Are you in control or are you being controlled?
Genesis 1:27-28—”And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
The meaning of ‘dominion’ comes up as ‘sovereignty or control’; some of its synonyms provide a better description for this context – supremacy, dominance, authority, command, sway, influence.
Wait a minute. Let’s think this through:
1-Do we really have dominion over all the things mentioned above, as God intended for us? Have we taken dominion over other living things and people, as intended, or is it viceversa?
2-This clause clearly includes one person (‘…over every living thing that moveth…’) whom we often tend to forget – ourself. Have we taken dominion over our self: anger, thoughts, habits, avarice, and emotions or causes of sin?
Do we let anger have dominion?
The Bible says – And don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil – Ephesians 4:26-27
Seeds of anger stew and grow to irritation, resentment, break down of relationships. God freely gives us His peace, grace and forgiveness and desires for us to provide the same to others.
Do we let wrongdoings by others have dominion?
The Bible says – Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good – Romans 12:21
Being hurt or wronged by others can make us angry, have quick judgements of others; build dislike, envy and jealousy as well. At this point of time if we turn our thoughts to being good, we can conquer evil with good. Stop your thoughts when they begin to be critical, angry, or envious, stop them by responding with a loving action.
We commit sins not in our thoughts but in our actions, so it is good to exercise curbing our negative thoughts at its root.
And after all of the above. We must also learn to obey. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30
If we know this, why do we take on more stress and anxiety than ever before? Of course we should always perform our best and make a difference where we can, but we must also learn to relinquish control. There are many areas where we don’t have control. We must learn to leave those areas to God and put our entire might to trust Him. Try this today. You will definitely feel God’s peace and love that you can pass on to others as well.
