“A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.”
We don’t see many cities in America with walls. That is not a common architectural feature today. Cities, however, used to be built with large, thick walls around them to keep the bad guys out and the good guys safe within. The large gate could be opened and closed to limit access to the city. In Brazil, every house and every apartment complex is surrounded by a high wall with pointy things on top.
This proverb presents an interesting word picture by putting self-control on the same level as the protective wall around the city. It actually makes a lot of sense if you stop and think about it, though. Have you ever seen a co-worker commit career suicide because they could not keep their mouth closed? Or maybe you had family member that just seemed to get arrested every few years. I saw it over and over again in my Law Enforcement career. I probably would not have had a job if people could just exercise self-control. The angry husband who hits his wife, the lady who had one too many drinks at dinner and is now going to drive home, the teenage girl who just had to have that expensive shirt and shoplifted it are just a few examples.
Self-control is one of those qualities that will make us successful in life. As parents, this must be one of the main things that we try to instill in our children from a young age. They may not enjoy it at the time but they will thank us for it later. As adults, we never get past the need to stay disciplined and self-controlled in our lives. How many marriages have been destroyed, careers flushed down the toilets, and lives ended early because of a lack of self-control?
How is your self-control?
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