Does "to be in control" mean "to get mastery/to be in power"?

This is religious-speak, which is slightly different than normal English.

This is religious-speak, which is slightly different than normal English.

To be in control in this context means to control your own life. If you are in control that you are making your own decisions and choosing what you want to do for yourself. The writer suggests that it should be God controlling your life (and making decisions for you).

The phrase "be in control" can be used in non-religious contexts (with a slightly different meaning).

A child who is "out of control" is usually having a temper tantrum or is doing something really bad that you can't stop.

If you are "in control" when you are driving that you are perfectly able to steer the car. If you are "out of control" then you are skidding or going to fast. You can then "gain control" of the car again.

At my work, my boss was fired and there was a struggle for who had the power (authority). My new boss came and said "I am in control now" meaning that he now had the power and authority and that we had better do what he said.

My desire to draw close to God was blocked by my own pride and sinfulness, which in turn was an inevitable consequence of my own selfish desire to be in control. Faithfulness to God required a kind of death of self-will, in order to be reborn as a new creation.

I am simply pointing out that the religious sense is slightly different than the examples from other areas of life. The terminology being used in the text is from a specific brand of Evangelical Christianity and it has a meaning in this subculture that is different than in other contexts.

There are very few contexts (outside of religion) in which being the one making decisions for your own life is portrayed as a bad thing.

which in turn was an inevitable consequence of my own selfish desire to be in con-trol.

Parados: It is religious speak because without the religious understanding there is no way to find meaning in the phrase. Unless you understand that certain faiths state God should be in control of your life you will never understand the phrase in that context since there is nothing in the statement that clarifies it.

Give me an example of a non-religious context of the use of "in control" to be a negative? Is there one?

The sentence "When I am in control I have problems." makes no sense outside of a religious context.

My desire to draw close to her was blocked by my own pride and selfishness, which in turn was an inevitable consequence of my own selfish desire to be in control.

Quote:

My desire to draw close to her was blocked by my own pride and selfishness, which in turn was an inevitable consequence of my own selfish desire to be in control.

Yeah, I have to accept this. I retract my argument.

Eh? Wait a minute? Why have I observed that JTT has argued in a circle? "Selfishness is the selfish desire," of course. But it is not an argument; it is simply repeating itself. And JTT said "my own selfishness ... was an inevitable consequence of my own selfish desire."

My desire to draw close to her was blocked by my own pride and sinfulness, which in turn was an inevitable consequence of my own selfish desire to be in control.