Don't you hate self-sabotage? You know those times when you were planning to do something that's good for you,

but then you were forced into this battle with the inner toddler that wants to do the opposite.

There was someone who had this same struggle in the New Testament, and he wrote these words in Romans 715.

For that which I do, I allow not.

For what I would, that do I not.

But what I hate, that do I.

The Apostle Paul was writing about the Christian struggle with self,

also known as a lack of temperance.

Thank you. itself, also known as a lack of temperance.

Welcome to Keep the Heart podcast with Francie Taylor.

Francie is an author, teacher, and conference speaker known for sharing biblical insights that are practical and inspiring. Now back to today's

valuable study. What is temperance? For starters, it's a word that only appears three times in the

Bible, and all three are in the New Testament. In fact,

one of the times this word is listed as a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5, and in 2nd Peter

1, we're told to add this to our faith. According to the strong concordance, temperance

is another word for self-control. It's that very difficult spiritual workout of learning

how to have the mastery over our desires, passions, and appetites. And when the definition says

appetites, that's not just referring to food. Some people have an appetite for power, while others have an insatiable desire for

pleasure. Webster's 1828 dictionary includes this definition for temperance, patience,

calmness, sedateness, and moderation of passion. So how can we achieve this calm, patient, management of self?

Well, let's consider three truths from Scripture,

and then you can pray for God to show you where to begin to grow this fruit in your life.

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