A City Without Walls

The proverb gives us an unforgettable picture of the person who lacks self-control: like a city broken down, without walls. In the ancient world, a city's walls were its safety. Without them, the city lay open, defenceless against every enemy, every raider, every passing threat, unable to keep anything dangerous out. That, says the proverb, is what a person is like who "has no rule over his own spirit." Without self-control, the soul is wide open, defenceless, at the mercy of every passing impulse and temptation that wishes to come in.

We often think of self-control as restrictive, a set of walls that fence us in. The proverb shows the opposite: the walls are what keep us safe. The person who cannot govern their own anger, appetite, tongue, or impulses is not free, they are exposed, vulnerable, easily breached, blown about by whatever they happen to feel. True freedom is not the absence of all restraint but the strength to rule one's own spirit, so that we are not ruled by it.

Where are your walls broken down? Ask the Spirit to rebuild them, that you may be safe and free.