Self-control is a spiritual gift that must be practiced; to not exercise this gift is tantamount to resisting and quenching God's Spirit. As spiritual adolescents, we often develop a defiant resistance to change, change which would ultimately make our lives easier and spiritually functional. If we become stiff-necked, like our ancestors at Sinai, we are clearly not submitting to God's Holy Spirit, sabotaging our overcoming and our path to salvation. Spiritual self-control is activated by regularly studying, meditating, praying, and crying out for more Holy Spirit and exercising it by our behavior.