Self Control

While reading a beautiful article in a magazine I was reminded of the importance of exercising self control.

In the age in which we live, where there is so much pressure on everyone – such as financial pressure and the loadshedding we are enduring, people are very short tempered and uneasy. They are on edge all the time.

We, as farmers, need to exercise self-control. In The Word of God 2 Peter 1:6 says,

to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,

We need to exercise this gift if we are hoping to run our farms more efficiently and effectively.

Number one, we need to curb our tempers. There is no excuse. We cannot say we lose our tempers because we are red heads, or we come from Irish ancestry. We can’t say that we have this explosive temper and there's nothing we can do about it. That is not acceptable. We need to be patient. We need to be understanding. These characteristics will take us a long way.

Number two, we need to exercise better time management. When we waste time, we lose self control. Remember it takes a lot of time to build up relationships on the farm, it takes a lot of time to teach people skills, it takes a lot of time to execute meaningful actions, and it takes a lot of time to achieve goals on the farm. Often a life that is mismanaged is a result of bad time management and that comes through the lack of self-discipline.

Number three, we need to exercise control of our tongues. If we look at Proverbs 10:19 The Bible says, 

In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But he who restrains his lips is wise. 

I think this is a particular area we need to look at, especially as farmers. You say something on the spur of the moment and don't really mean it, but it can upset the staff and the whole running of the farm for some time. Be careful what you say. Sometimes we need to count to ten (literally) before we say something, and often, after having done that, we realise we would rather not say it. That early president of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin, once said: “Would you live with ease, then do what you ought and not what you please.” That's right. If you want to live in peace then we need to do the right thing, not what we feel, rather what we should do. 

Our words should be meaningful, they should always build people up, to bring the best out of them, and not to put them down, or cut them out. They say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Why, you may ask? Because it is always at somebody else's cost and never our own. In other words, if you have nothing nice to say about someone rather say nothing at all. We farmers, unlike other businesses, we have no knock-off time. We live in our workplace and sometimes words said in anger can cause a lot of strife, not only on the farm, but more especially in the family. Pray, and ask the Lord today to help you to control your speech, your time management and most of all your temper. You will find that things will go much better for you this year.

God bless you. 
Angus & Jill Buchan