“An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach . . .” (1 Tim. 3:2).
Related to self-discipline, an elder must be prudent or sensible. This has more to do with the discipline of the inner thoughts and attitudes. Being sensible or prudent has to do with an overall posture toward life, that is, not given to excesses or pendulum swings of emotions, attitudes or perspectives.
A prudent elder does not change his mind at a whim, nor run after the latest fads. He disciplines his thought life, indeed, his inner life. “For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” but his heart is not with you”(Prov. 23:7).
The KJV translates the word as “sober.” The elder should be one who does “not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3). His sober-mindedness models the “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” that should be characteristic of all committed believers who have been “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:1-2).
The prudent elder is in control of his thoughts, knowing they motivate his actions. He is “intent of the what, the how, and the when of doing what should be done.” This should be characteristic of older men and younger women (Titus 2:2, 5). Indeed, it should likewise be the same for elders of the church.
Self-control or self-discipline finds its traction in a man who is sensible or prudent. Yet, conversely, a sensible man who is not self-controlled is useless in living out his Christian walk. Such a man lacks spiritual power, and is no use in leading the people of God in holy living.