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Hunter Biden is probably a name you wish you’d never heard. Hunter, the son our current President, has a very checkered history. The allegations include cavorting with strippers, getting one pregnant, and abusing crack cocaine. Allegations of corrupt influence-peddling also exist, including dealings with the Chinese and a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma. Of course, much of this was fueled by his leaving a laptop loaded with scandalous photos and content at a computer repair shop and forgetting about it. In today’s destructive political environment, Hunter’s lack of discipline has been used against his father.

Things aren’t much better on the other side of the aisle. Although the allegations against Donald Trump are not as scurrilous, many of his political problems stem from his lack of discipline as well. Trump can’t resist tweeting mocking criticism of his opponents, even in his own party. His pugnacious attitude has been used to bait him into political mistakes. Hunter Biden and former President Trump illustrate how a lack of self-control provides an avenue of attack in the world of politics.

2 Peter 1:5-6 tells us to “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control.” (NIV 1984) Self-control, though a fruit of God’s Spirit in our lives, still requires our effort. We must discipline ourselves like an elite athlete to make sure no area of our life provides an avenue for spiritual attack and defeat.

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You’ve heard of running a marathon, right? It is a race of over 26 miles. Many are famous, such as the Boston Marathon. But these are not the longest races run. Did you know there are races of 100 miles in length? And many of these races are not on a paved, city street. They are run over trails, often in rugged terrain.

The Hardrock 100 starts in Silverton, Colorado and makes a loop through the mountains. The average elevation of the race is 11,000 feet, twice the elevation of Denver. During the 102 miles of the race, runners will change elevation, going both uphill and down. The total elevation change over the course is over 66 thousand feet as they cross several mountains. Last year, Kilian Jornet won the race in a time of 21:36:24, just behind his record set the previous year. Yes, racers run through the night. Many require 40 hours to complete the course.* How do you train for such a race? You spend a lot of time in the mountains running to build endurance.

2 Peter 1:5-6 tells us to “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control.” (NIV 1984) The word translated “self-control” can also be translated “endurance.” Life is more than a marathon. It is an ultra-race through life’s highs and lows. I Add to your faith in Jesus endurance.

*”Course Description,” Hardrock 100, https://www.hardrock100.com/hardrock-course.php

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Who is the greatest golfer of all time? Most people would say Jack Nicklaus, who won 15 major tournaments and finished among the top five and top ten places more times than any other golfer. But things might have been different if Tiger Woods possessed more self-control. Tiger was a phenomenon on pace to overtake Nicklaus. He burst on the scene as a young player and racked up victories. He won 14 major tournaments in eleven years beginning in 1997. But things changed drastically on Thanksgiving Day in 2009. On that day, Woods’ wife found romantic texts on his phone and called the number, discovering Woods’ lover. Woods left their home shortly after in their Cadillac SUV and hit a fire hydrant and tree. A media scandal erupted. Woods’ play deteriorated as other affairs became known. He and his wife divorced the following year.* Woods would not win another major golf tournament until nearly ten years later, to date, his last. Without self-control, his life crashed.

Self-control is needed in every aspect of life. 2 Peter 1:5-6 tells us to “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control.” (NIV 1984) We need self-control in the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual realms of our lives. We find it as God’s Spirit changes our hearts. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Follow his leading.

*Jim Peltz, “Tiger Woods hurt in car accident in front of his Florida home,” Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2009, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-28-la-sp-tiger-woods28-2009nov28-story.html

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When you hear the term virtuoso musician, do you think of someone like pianists Chopin or Rachmaninov? Or perhaps the violinist Perlman or cellist Rostropovich? They are all known as virtuosos, meaning they mastered their instrument to the highest level of talent and technical skill.

Another virtuoso is the guitarist Doc Watson. He was born in 1923 in Deep Gap, North Carolina. An eye infection left him blind before he reached age two. But that didn’t stop him. One day his father told him and his brother that if they chopped down a bunch of small chestnut trees, he’d let them keep the money from selling them. They did, and Watson bought his first guitar. He spent hours practicing and, over time, developed a technique called flat picking, where the musician holds a pick to strike the strings. The technique influenced many folk musicians. Watson also mastered the finger-picking style.* I encourage you to search the internet and listen to a recording of Doc Watson playing “Tickling the Strings.”

2 Peter 1:5-6 tells us to “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control.” (NIV 1984) That word self-control refers to mastering something. Doc Watson mastered the guitar. We are to work along with God’s spirit to master ourselves, to learn how to live, to be a virtuoso in the Christian life.

*”Doc Watson,” Wikipedia, last updated February 24, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Watson

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Elvis Presley was known as the “King of Rock and Roll.” Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, he rose to music stardom from Memphis, Tennessee, beginning in 1954. He is the best-selling solo music artist of all time. He sold over half a billion records. But his story is more than a rags-to-riches tale. It also holds tragedy. During his rise to fame, Elvis was deeply opposed to recreational drug use. He also avoided alcohol, since many in his family had been alcoholics. He even talked to President Nixon about reaching out to the hippies to combat their acceptance of drugs. But he had a problem. He abused prescription drugs and had other unhealthy habits. Once he spent three days in a coma from a drug overdose.  In his final concerts, he was so drugged that he struggled to remember the lyrics to his songs. He collapsed and died at the age of 42 at his estate in Memphis.*

Elvis is an example of the lack of self-control. Although he avoided illegal drugs and alcohol, he abused prescription medication. The lack of self-control is not only a threat to our physical health, it can also damage us spiritually. 2 Peter 1:5-6 says, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control.” (NIV 1984) Don’t let even one area of your life escape the discipline and training needed to live for Jesus.

*”Elvis Presley,” Wikipedia, last updated March 7, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley

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Would you run eight 400-meter sprints at 1 o’clock in the morning? Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce did that once when he traveled to Paris. It was the only time he could train after a very busy and long day.  Kelce takes training his body seriously. Besides running, he performs squats, lunges and rows, as well as several other exercises. He seeks to develop all the muscles in his body to give him explosive performance and to protect him in the brutal sport of NFL football. He has been one of the most durable tight ends in the last few years.*

This week we will focus on the third thing we should add to faith, namely, self-control. Listen for it in 2 Peter 1:5-8, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.” (NIV 1984)

The word in this passage translated “self-control” was used in the ancient world to describe mastery of your desires, self-restraint and discipline. One use described the athlete in training. I’m sure Travis Kelce needed some self-discipline to run sprints in the middle of the night after a long day. We also need self-control to pursue God’s will in a world that tempts our every desire.

*Anna Katherine Clemmons, “How to Build Explosiveness Like NFL Star Travis Kelce,” Men’s Health, September 19, 2021, https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a37331144/travis-kelce-workout/

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Animals can do some gross things.  In fact, 2 Peter 2:20-22 uses the behavior of a couple of animals to make a point. It talks about people and says, ‘If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”’ (NIV 1984)

When I was growing up, we had both dogs and hogs. I don’t remember if any of our dogs lapped up their own vomit, but the pigs loved to wallow in the mud. But this passage is not about the animals. It talks about our accountability for knowledge. Those who come to know Jesus, then return to the corruption of the world are worse off than if they had never known Jesus. When we add knowledge to our faith and virtue, as 2 Peter 1:5 says, we must follow it. Insight into God’s will is dangerous if we don’t also obey it.

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We live in a technologically advanced age. For instance, several technologies are used to search for oil, gas and hot water reservoirs buried deep in the earth. Sound waves are transmitted into the ground. These may be generated on land with explosives. In water, guns that fire air are dragged near the bottom. The sound waves generated bounce around and travel through the layers of rock deep underground. Huge volumes of this seismic data are collected. But the data must be studied and analyzed to provide insight into the structures within the earth. Machine-learning computer algorithms process the data and provide maps of the structures deep underground. It is amazing.

Did you notice that gathering and studying the data was not the end result of the process? The end result was insight into what the data revealed. The same is true in our study of God’s word. 2 Peter 1:5 commands us to “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge.” (NIV 1984) Knowledge is not simply knowing facts from the bible. It involves using our minds to process the biblical teachings so we have insight into God’s will. That insight tells us who God is, what is good versus what is evil and what God wills for our lives.

Yes, we need knowledge of the bible. Yes, we need to study what it teaches. But the goal is not knowing the bible. The goal is knowing God.

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Do you own a house. Many people do and many others want to. Do you know what quality construction looks like? Imagine touring a newly built house. The sod in the yard is fresh and green. The windows are clean and the paint fresh. All the doors swing open easily and the joints in the woodwork are tight. A beautiful hardwood floor doesn’t even creak when you walk across it. The walls are finished without any flaws. The kitchen counter stands spotless and the sink faucet doesn’t leak. Is it quality construction? Well, it might be. But there are important things you can’t see. For instance, are the footings and foundations good? To paraphrase Jesus, a house built on sand without a solid foundation will not stand in the storms of life.

In a similar way, people often think they know about God. The are attracted to ideas that look and feel good. But their knowledge is often built on the sandy foundation of speculation. Sometimes it is the speculation of others, sometimes their own. Well-crafted theologies and books have been created by many people. They sound reasonable and logical. But the foundation is often speculation.

If you want to add knowledge of God to your virtue and faith in Jesus, as 2 Peter 1:5 says, study God’s word. It is the true source of knowledge about God.

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Time brings changes. Many years ago, newspapers were a major source of information. News articles were the predominate content. Opinions were relegated to the editorial page and a clear distinction was made between news and opinion. Not so much anymore. Newspapers have declined in readership, with many going online. The sources of news have multiplied across radio, television and the internet, competing for attention. At the same time, the volume of news content has declined and is increasingly mixed with opinion. News anchors and columnists provide information in the midst of ranting about it. And social media echoes and amplifies the rant.

Take the news and information about the effectiveness of masks during the pandemic. You could find articles supporting it as vital, as well as those condemning it as destructive, with both sides ranting about the other.

We are so inundated with opinions today, we forget that opinions are not knowledge. Knowledge is understanding something as it really is, not as people say it is. We must use care in perusing all these sources of information.

We must also be careful in looking for knowledge about God. Many have opinions about him and assert them as gospel truth. But opinions are not knowledge. 2 Peter 1:5 says, “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge.” (NIV 1984) Do the work, study God’s word and gain knowledge of who he truly is.

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Is LeBron James the greatest basketball player of all time? He certainly feels he is. Listen to his words, “What I bring to the table as a basketball player … I feel like I’m the best basketball player that ever played the game. That’s just my confidence, that’s just what I bring to the table, what I possess.” *

No one doubts that James is a great player. He has lasted years in the game and has scored tens of thousands of points. But is he the greatest of all time? Arguments continue.

I mention James not because I care whether he is the greatest. I quoted him as an example of the way people talk and think. Notice he said, “I feel like I’m the best.” That word construction is used in many different ways. People even use those words when talking about God, saying things like “I feel God accepts me as I am. I don’t need to change.”

2 Peter 1:5 tells us we need to grow and develop in our faith. It says, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge.” (NIV 1984) Note that the word knowledge in the original language denotes understanding something with the intellect. It is not talking about intuition or feelings. We must use our reasoning ability to learn about God by studying his word.

*Kyle Goon, “When LeBron James passes Kareem, his last battle will be Michael Jordan for G.O.A.T.” The Orange County Register, February 8, 2023, https://www.ocregister.com/2023/02/07/after-catching-kareem-lebron-james-last-great-chase-is-michael-jordan-to-be-the-g-o-a-t/

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