God Give Me Patience, and Give It Right Now!

Drew Dyck, Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control From the Bible and Brain Science

Religions and philosophies throughout history place a premium on self-control. But they’ve differed wildly in how they achieve that goal. Modern experimental psychology has made significant inroads on this front, but multiple studies confirm that spirituality plays an important role; if we believe in ultimate consequences, we’ll control ourselves better. What does that mean for Christians in a technological society like ours today?

Christian writer Drew Dyck’s third book began as a personal research project. Despite having a graduate degree in theology and working in Christian publishing, he admits tending to drift into self-indulgence and satisfying his appetite. So he began researching what theologians, psychologists, and other scholars have discovered about self-control. He couples this research with experiments to apply self-control principles in his own life, experiments we could reproduce in our own lives.

His resulting book is scientifically sound, and consonant with secular books I’ve previously read on human psychology. (Dyck cites several of those books extensively.) But it’s also amply Christian. Faith isn’t an overlay for Dyck; he treats self-control not as a precept, but as a spiritual virtue. As he states in his introduction, “Self-control [is] foundational. Not because it's more important than other virtues, but because the others rely upon it.”

The Apostle Paul lists self-control as one of the Fruits of the Spirit in his Epistle to the Galatians. But in Romans, Paul laments his own lack of self-control, culminating in his legendary wail, “Oh wretched man that I am!” How then can modern people, Christian or otherwise, do better? Start, Dyck asserts, by accepting self-control as a process, not an outcome; we control ourselves constantly through discipline, faith, and awareness.

Dyck lays out principles portable across life experiences. These include being as specific as possible in your goals, working to establish productive habits, and paying attention to which cues waylay you on your journey. Dyck’s process isn’t dogmatic, and allows individuals to customize their plan to their unique circumstances. However, he reminds readers that several important principles have proven true across ages and sciences; ignore past wisdom at your peril.

Drew Dyck

Throughout, Dyck remains voluminously Christian. He cites several studies from psychology and behavioral economics that correlate religion and faith with desirable outcomes. His sources flinch from explaining why religion promotes self-control; he quotes one saying that faith remains, by nature, immune to double-blind study. Thus Dyck encourages Christian readers to advance boldly in faith, knowing that science ratifies important precepts of belief.

Some Christians get understandably squeamish about directly claiming we have any self-control. For them, considering theological history and Biblical study, self-anything strays uncomfortably close to “works righteousness.” Dyck anticipates these objections, and dedicates an entire chapter to the theme. Copious Biblical citations encourage believers to act boldly against their sins. We can do nothing without God, Dyck says, then demonstrates Scripturally how God enables our actions against Sin.

And yes, for Dyck, we fight against capital-S Sin. While individual momentary lapses have explanations from brain science and the physical universe, the pattern we establish overall bespeaks a universal condition best comprehended in Augustinian terms. Original Sin says we’ll always struggle against corporeal appetites. But Christian faith gives us authority to stand bold against the flesh, Satan, or whatever you want to call our constant tempter.

Besides Scripture, Dyck cites ancient sources, including Augustine, Eusebius, and Justin Martyr; modern theologians like Tim Keller, John Ortberg, and Kevin DeYoung; and secular researchers and science writers like Kelly McGonigal, Charles Duhigg, and Cass Sunstein. The resulting product is dense with sources, a veritable smorgasbord of further reading for the curious. It’s also solidly argued enough to travel with us into life’s darker corners.

Between chapters, Dyck includes personal stories of striving to improve his self-control. His individual struggles aren’t catastrophic by worldly standards; he isn’t a criminal or addict. But his struggles to overcome fatty desserts, poor housekeeping, and a feeble prayer life let him test religious and scientific principles in his own life. He discovers that self-control isn’t easy, and requires an investment of years. His is the slow fix, but it’s time-tested and works.

Dyck’s thesis reinforces something I’ve seen demonstrated in my personal studies, that developments in psychology confirm principles long known to religious leaders. What Moses, Christ, and Paul describe as precepts, brain science re-discovers as insights. Even if you don’t believe prophets are literally inspired by God, their doctrines nevertheless show familiarity with how human minds work. Saving souls is difficult work. We can start by controlling them for ourselves.