Self-Control

 

       Many people watched in horror yesterday as the Florida Panthers goalie, Tomas Vokoun, was slashed in the head by his own teammate, Keith Ballard, after giving up a goal.  As a result, Vokoun had to be put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.  Thankfully, Vokoun only suffered a laceration above his ear, which required several stitches, but no major damage was done.  After watching this misfortunate event, it is quite obvious this was an accident and Keith Ballard was not trying to hurt his goalie in any way.  It appears Ballard was trying to strike the pole and inadvertently hit his own goalie (See Video Here).  However, accident or not, Ballard's lack of self-control led to a terrible decision which resulted in a tragedy.
       There are so many situations within competition where people seem to lose self-control and slam a racket down, throw a golf club, smash a baseball bat down, throw or kick a ball away from everyone else, and many others.  We have all probably done this at one point or another, myself included, but what a terrible attitude this really is.  What does this really say about us?  Is the game we are playing really worth being this angry about?  Even though it was an accident, because Ballard lost all self-control and decided to lash out in anger, he ended up taking out his own teammate.
       How would we feel if our lack of self-control lead to the hurting of someone else, or the falling away of a member?  While it is natural to feel somewhat upset when a situation does not go as planned, how we react is a completely different story.  Self-control is a very important Christian trait (1 Corinthians 9:25; Galatians 5:23; 2 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:8; 2 Peter 1:6; etc).  Let's always strive to have better self-control over our feelings, actions, and reactions to all situations.  People are watching, so let's make sure they can see Christ in us.

 

--Brett Petrillo