Society is obsessed with control. Are you?

British writer Norman Douglas once famously observed that you can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.

There’s a lot of truth in that when you think about it. Take Adidas' slogan, for example: "You Got This!"

You’ll find similar sounding slogans from any number of High Street shops. Take Burger King: "Have it Your Way." And Argos: "You’re Good to Go."

There’s a reason companies spend millions of pounds each year on market research. It pays to be an expert in human behaviour. We’re a lot more predictable than we care to think. We simply love feeling that we are in control of our lives.

All-knowing, powerful and present?

Our phones trick us into thinking that we are all-knowing. I remember the days of having to make my peace with the unsolved crossword as that pesky unknown capital city left me dumbfounded. Now I just let Alexa have two seconds to think and it’s "puzzle solved!"

Our TV-shows trick us into thinking that we need to be all-powerful. Whether it’s Dragon's Den or Bargain Hunt, we laud the self-made man or woman.

Our news channels trick us into believing that we should strive to be all-present. Not only can we know what’s happening across the other side of the world but we now feel the pressure to have an opinion on it as well; it’s the perfect cultural cauldron in which to brew up control freaks.

What does God's Word say?

The Bible tells us that the desire for control is as old as Genesis chapter three.

God alone is the omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipresent (all-present) One. These terms are meant to convey truths about Him not us.

The heart of Adam and Eve’s garden rebellion, therefore, was nothing less than an attribute grab in which the creature-creator distinction was muddied. Not only is it not good for us, it’s also a weight we were never designed to carry.

Control is a slippery eel of an idol to spot; it's probably because the Bible does encourage us to be wise planners and zealous workers. Too often that’s an easy mask to hide behind.

Masters of our own destinies we certainly are not.

Fall at the feet of the Creator

In fact, when you stop and consider it, it’s quite incredible how much of what happens to us in life is completely out of our control: family dynamics; health complications; economic fluctuations; global events; relational tensions. However, we still yearn for that sense of being in complete control.

Every so often the idol of control rears its ugly head in the everyday postures of my life: my perfectionist tendencies; my overreaction to lateness; my desire to want to find quick-fix solutions to some situations, refusing to accept that they might be more complex and require more time to settle than my thinking allows for.

Instinctive reactions are always great idol-revealers.

Even spiritually speaking, I theologically subscribe to Christ being the Head of the church but I functionally behave as if I’m a strong supporting neck.

Too often I’ve put my prayerlessness down to busyness when in actual fact it's pure pride. I think I can do things on my own, according to my timescale and abilities; it's an attribute grab of the highest order - one of which I need to repent of.

Jesus invites us to embrace a better and more human way. He is the One in whom all things hold together - not me.

Consider the lilies (Matthew 6v28).

Perceive the behaviour of little children (Matthew 18v3).

Watch me calm the storm (Matthew 8v23-27).

Learn from my gentle and lowly heart (Matthew 11v29).

There is something wonderful about how Jesus holds up those people of mustard-seed-faith in the gospels, those who declare: "Lord I believe, help my unbelief!"

Sam Allberry once remarked that spiritual maturity is realising that you need Jesus more, not less, in life. There are oodles of truth in that simple yet profound admission.

The One who holds all things together is also the One interceding for me at the Father’s right hand.

This all means that today is another day when I can happily relinquish control to our most loving and powerful Saviour.