Self-Mastery – Be You Perfect 

The manifestation of greatness on our planet is the exhibition of self-control. Anyone who conquers their own self is greater than someone who conquers a city. Jesus taught us how to live a life of self-mastery. The unique feature of the Master’s personality was not so much its perfection as its symmetry, its exquisite and balanced unification.

Jesus achieved self-mastery growing from infancy to adulthood. No teenager or young adult will ever go through more testing conflicts or more trying situations than Jesus himself endured during those strenuous years. He lived a life that was in all points tested and tempted, but he did not sin. And since he himself suffered, having been tested and tried, he is abundantly able to understand and minister to those who are confused and distressed, to show us how to master our own self.

The Spirit purifies the human heart and leads us to living the “best good” – the will of God. The material spirit of selfishness has been swallowed up in this new spiritual bestowal of selflessness. Jesus said, “If then, my children, you are born of the spirit, you are forever delivered from the self-conscious bondage of a life of self-denial and watchcare over the desires of the flesh, and you are translated into the joyous kingdom of the spirit, whence you spontaneously show forth the fruits of the spirit in your daily lives; and the fruits of the spirit are the essence of the highest type of enjoyable and ennobling self-control, even the heights of terrestrial mortal attainment–true self-mastery.”

The more a person masters their own ego, or selfishness, the greater their spiritual growth. This subsequently leads to becoming trustworthy and trustworthiness is the true measure of self-mastery. Living the old way of self-denial, people would suppress, obey, and conform to the rules of living. The new way of self-mastery means that a person is transformed by the Spirit Of Truth, which strengthens the soul by the constant spiritual renewing of your mind. The Indwelling Spirit of God dwells within anyone, who embraces the faith that God is our Universal Father.

Because of that free will choice to have faith in God, you are no longer bondslaves of the flesh (focused on physical and material desires) but free and liberated sons of the spirit. The new law of the spirit endows you with the liberty of self-mastery in place of the old law of self-bondage and the slavery of self-denial.

Jesus taught that many times people blame their bad choices on “the evil one”, instead of the real cause, which is their own foolish fears, enslaving pleasures, malice, envy, and even vengeful hatred!

Anyone that knows they are God’s children, is “born of the spirit” and are always masters of the self and all that pertains to the desires of the flesh. You become filled with God’s heavenly peace using the exalted privilege to cleanse yourselves from all evils of mind and body while you seek for perfection in the love of God.

Do not give way to fear. Do not doubt the love and mercy of the heavenly Father. The secret of the mastery of self is bound up with your faith in the indwelling spirit, whichever works by love.

Jesus is the shining inspiration for living. Even though a person cannot attain his perfection of character, one can see his amazing balance.

Each of the twelve apostles loved Jesus for different reasons. Andrew admired Jesus because of his consistent sincerity and his unaffected dignity. Simon Peter revered Jesus for his tenderness and forbearance, patience. James Zebedee admired Jesus for his sympathetic affection and his understanding interest in the small and the great, the rich and the poor. John Zebedee appreciated Jesus’ love and unselfishness. Phillip most revered Jesus for his unfailing generosity. Nathaniel most revered Jesus for his tolerance. Matthew most appreciated Jesus’ forgiving disposition. James Alpheus especially loved Jesus because of the Master’s simplicity. Judas Alpheus revered Jesus’ unostentatious humility linked with such personal dignity. Simon Zelotes most admired Jesus’ calmness, his assurance, poise, and inexplicable composure. Judas Iscariot admired the generally attractive and exquisitely charming personality of the Master.

However, it was Thomas who enjoyed the highest intellectual understanding and personality appreciation of Jesus of any of the twelve. He revered Jesus for his superbly balanced character. He admired him for being lovingly merciful yet so inflexibly just and fair; so firm but never obstinate; so calm but never indifferent; so helpful and so sympathetic but never meddlesome or dictatorial; so strong but at the same time so gentle; so positive but never rough or rude; so tender but never vacillating; so pure and innocent but at the same time so virile, aggressive, and forceful; so truly courageous but never rash or foolhardy; such a lover of nature but free from all tendency to revere nature; humorous and playful, but free from levity and frivolity. In sum, it was his matchless symmetry of personality that so charmed Matthew.

Jesus was the perfected specimen of human self-control and exhibited the highest earthly attainment of true self-mastery.