Power, Love, and Self-discipline

 

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

—2 Timothy 1:7

Have you ever done a self-assessment to determine the key qualities that make you who you are? I was fortunate that, as a Psychology and Writing double-major at Houghton College in the mid-1960s, I had a most excellent professor who had spent time in the Veterans Administration Hospital System. He insisted that Psychology majors take a wide variety of psychological instruments, participate in group therapy sessions, and learn as much about themselves as possible.

I learned early on that I had low self-esteem coupled with a strong sense of perfectionism. I also learned that my extreme social awkwardness came from the way my low self-esteem and perfectionism had shaped the way I processed the information I receive when I am in a social setting.

I have always admired other people who seem to get along in life much more smoothly than I do. I am also keenly aware that God has gifted me in other areas of life that, in many ways, more than compensate for my social awkwardness.

Now, imagine for a moment that God sets out three qualities that He wants to give to His dearly loved children. You actually don’t need to imagine this, because God does have three wonderful qualities that the Apostle Paul has described, as found in 2 Timothy 1:7:

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

A spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of self-discipline are all sterling qualities that God gives to each of His children. They come to us through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. They are given to us to enable us to serve God in this present world as His ambassadors to a troubled and needy world.

As this new day begins, let’s praise and thank God for these three great gifts. Then, let’s determine to use them to spread the good news of who God is and what He longs to do for each person who may cross the pathway of our lives. In so doing, we will find these qualities growing within us, just as Paul was urging his son-in-the-faith, Timothy, to experience these qualities growing within him.

 

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