Dear Father, There is an attribute the natural man rarely pays attention to, perhaps because the cost seems to outweigh the benefits, and because, unlike the pursuit of material things, this one requires mastery: efforts consistently applied until not just the man, but heaven and earth themselves, testify that he has gained mastery over himself. One of the greatest achievements a man can attain in his lifetime is self-mastery. I came across a passage in Scripture which says, “Encourage the young men to be self-controlled.” The very mention of self-control can feel restrictive, in how the subject “anger management” might first seem like a more relatable substitute. Yet self-control cuts across all spheres of our lives: in the unrestricted and uncontrolled reach of our appetites; the borderless and unsettling freedom of our sexual desires; the unguarded indulgence in sleep; the silence of prayerlessness and the neglect of spiritual hunger; the habit of postponement; and the absence of commitment to a worthy course. Father, I could send a list full of related cases, and even a library may not be enough. So the question lingers on my mind: how much of all these do we take into consideration? Yet one of the greatest attainments of a man is found in the mastery he has over himself. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: Bengali Slide 3: Urdu French version in comments #LettertoGod #selfmastery #selfcontrol #angermanagement