The Greatest Trait for Success

If you saw the title of this January's sermon series, you may be disappointed. I get it, self-control is not as attractive as some of the other "New Year, New Me" series we've done. But just hang with me, and I think you will be happy you did, because self-control is one of the most important factors for a successful life.

One of the most famous studies on self-control was the "Stanford Marshmallow experiment." It was performed in the 1960s with dozens of children around the age of four. The children were given one marshmallow, pretzel, or cookie, and they were told that if they could wait for fifteen minutes they would get a second treat. Then the researchers would walk out of the room. It was just a young child staring down a delicious treat.

What would you have done at four years old? You would have probably eaten the treat. You wouldn't be alone, that's what most children did. Many gobbled it the moment the researchers walked out of the room, others delayed before they succumbed to temptation, and a few successfully waited for that second treat.

Twenty years later the researchers followed up with the children and made a fascinating discovery. They found a strong correlation between a child's self-control and their success in life. The children with more self-control scored an average of 210 points higher on the SAT, received higher levels of education, were happier, and healthier. As they looked deeper, they realized that few childhood traits were better at predicting outcomes later in life than self-control.

The importance of self-control is no surprise to God. Dozens of times Christians are implored to have self-control. Proverbs declares it's more important than being a great warrior (Proverbs 16:32), and Paul tells us it is a hallmark virtue of the Christian life (Galatians 5:22).

There are few things more important in your life than having self-control, but if you're anything like me, you could use some improvement in that area. This new series is going to equip you with ancient wisdom and tools to help you become more self-controlled. I hope you will join us for it!