As we finish up our study of the Fruit of the Spirit, we are going to look at self-control. I really feel like this is an attribute that is lacking in our culture today. We are taught to do what makes us happy no matter what the consequences. I believe that this is a lie from the devil. Let's look one last time at our passage in Galatians and at a few more passages where the Bible talks about self-control.
Galatians 5:22-23
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (or patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."(NKJV, parenthesis and emphasis mine)
At the end of 1 Corinthians 9, Paul is comparing the Christian life to a footrace and he points out that an athlete has self-control in all things, which is very important for their training. Then he goes on to say that we should exhibit self-control all the more because we are racing for an imperishable reward.
Proverbs 25:28 says, "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls." (ESV) If we do not have self-control, our defenses are down and we have no protection.
In Titus 2:11-12, Paul says, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age." As those who have received salvation we are to "renounce ungodliness and worldly passions," to turn our backs on them, and to live godly lives in an upright manner with self-control. Paul gives a command for self-control again in 2 Peter 1.
When something is mentioned over and over again, that usually means it is important. Self-control is vital to our testimony as a Christian. If we did not reign in our fleshly desires, we would look just like the world and we would be disobeying God. I'm not just talking about the big things such as adultery, fornication, murder, etc., but what about being self-controlled enough to get out of bed in time for church on Sunday or being self-disciplined enough to spend time with God each day.
In day to day life we make many choices that show self-control. We go to work because we want the paycheck or to keep our jobs. We choose to make healthier eating choices, so that we don't have to go to the doctor as often. We choose to pay our bills rather than do the fun things so that we can have electricity, water, heat, and air conditioning. None of these things do we naturally desire to do, but we do them because we know that we don't want to have to face the consequences of not doing them.
In our spiritual lives, being self-controlled when it comes to sin will keep us from facing the consequences of regret, complications, and separation from God. If we are not cultivating our relationship with God, it will feel like there is a giant chasm that is keeping us apart from Him. Will you seek to avoid a rift between you and God by choosing to live a self-controlled life with the help of the Holy Spirit?
