June 25

Jun 25 - Today from Proverbs 25 we look at verse 28
"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self control."

In the day these proverbs were written, city walls were very important. Not only were they a stronghold against enemies whose intention was to conquer, but they were also an effective means for the king (or the king's governor), to control the culture of the city. One clear example of this is found in Nehemiah 13:15-22. The city walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. Nehemiah was King Artaxerxes' ruling representative (governor) of the city. Nehemiah was also a Jew who honored God and His Law. We see in this passage that God's Law was being broken as merchants from all over the land were coming into the city on the Sabbath to ply their trade. Nehemiah was furious! The reason God allowed the city to be captured and destroyed over seven decades ago was because God's people had forsaken the Law of God and turned to the ways of the nations around them. Nehemiah effectively used the walls to correct this situation. He ordered the city gates closed on the eve of the Sabbath, and they were to remain closed until the Sabbath was over. Without walls, the greedy merchants could covertly enter the city at any point and probably never be detected. For Nehemiah, the walls protected the Jewish culture from deteriorating back into a pagan culture.
The lesson for us is clear. Some people view 'self control' as inhibiting. They like the adventure of 'living without boundaries'. But, God warns us in this verse, and in many other passages, that without self control a person exposes their spiritual integrity to constant danger. Danger from attacks of the powers of darkness, and danger from the erosion of the 'world merchants' who would lure us into compromising God's Law. Self control is our chief protection.
When a believer comes to understand that God's Law is meant to protect us and provide for us, self control becomes much more attractive. The spiritual lessons found in the book of Nehemiah are many and are profound. It is a handbook on leadership. The central theme of the book is the wall of Jerusalem. It was broken down. The people were scattered. They had all but lost their identity. They had no protection from the enemies who would control them. They were slaves in their own land. When news of the condition of his people reached Nehemiah, his heart was broken. His single burning ambition was to get the wall rebuilt as soon as possible and at all costs. Nehemiah's ambition wasn't to be governor of Jerusalem. His ambition was to see God's order restored in the lives of His people. Nehemiah was an Old Testament type of Christ. He knew the key to restoring order, identity, protection and liberty for His people was to get the city wall up and to effectively use the wall for God's glory and purposes. That's the priority we are to set on self control.
We really have no excuse for living without the boundaries of self control. It is a fruit of the Spirit. One sure way of maintaining our wall is to abide in Christ - to keep our relationship with Him vital. "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine." (-Jesus, John 15:4)
Wisdom embraces the wall of self control, understanding the eternal values of the boundaries of life in Christ.