Devotional Day 1 - Mastering yourself

"Everything is permissible for me - but." 1 Corinthians 6:12

Let your flesh know who's in charge. Look for ways to say "no" to yourself every day. If you do, you'll be able to do it when it really counts. We're not just talking about cardinal sins, but zeroing in on the undisciplined areas of our lives that we excuse, rationalize, or postpone dealing with. Paul writes, "Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me - but I will not be mastered by anything." Paul measures his actions by this yardstick: "Is it beneficial? Does it have the potential to control me?"
How long are you going to keep telling yourself, "I know I need to change, and I will-tomorrow"? You have the right to consume chocolate cake and ice cream at bedtime every night. It's permissible," but not "beneficial," especially if you want unblocked arteries, sugar-free blood, a trim waistline, the ability to run a marathon, or maybe just to keep up with your grandkids. You have the right to spend your time and money as you please, but you don't have the right to complain when the law of diminishing returns kicks in and you finish up in the poorhouse. You have the right to fill your mind with any kind of garbage you choose. But understand this, constant exposure to the wrong things will weaken your character, rob you of self-respect and eventually enslave you.
When it comes to replacing bad habits with good ones, only one person is going to make it happen - you. Your character is the sum total of your everyday choices. Day by day, what you think, what you choose and what you do, is who you become.