The fruit of the Spirit: self- control 

Why is the last fruit of the Spirit so important for making good decisions especially in relation to the demonstration of the other characteristics of the fruit? 

Imagine a girl throwing a tantrum and throwing her toys all over the place just because she didn't get what she wanted.

Now let's go 20 years and imagine the same girl yelling at her boss (soon to be former boss) for making her rewrite a report. That would be the girl's version without self-control. A different version, with its own domain, would be the one that accepts criticism and obeys without complaint.

Everyday examples like this demonstrate even from a secular point of view how necessary self-control (control over ourselves) is in our daily lives.

But for a Christian, this quality goes far beyond controlling our temperament. For a Christian, self - control is resisting the temptation to break the law of God (including losing his temper) and react to others without showing the fruit of the Spirit Santo in our thoughts and actions. All action begins in the mind and, therefore, having self-control implies having absolute control of ourselves, "taking every thought captive to obedience to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10: 5).

Our human nature will always tell us that sin is "natural." In Romans 7:23, Paul describes this trend as "another law in my limbs, that rebels against the law of my mind, and leads me captive to the law of sin that is in my limbs."

 We must remember that the " natural" is part of this world that is temporarily ruled by Satan the devil (2 Corinthians 4: 3-4) and, as Christians, we recognize that self-control includes abstaining from the evil of this world.

God's instruction is clear: "Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father's love is not in him. Because everything in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, does not come from the Father, but from the world. And the world passes, and its desires; but he who does the will of God remains forever ”(1 John 2: 15-17).

What is your own domain then? It is the continual effort to resist the temptation to return to what the world offers when God has already shown us his spiritual path. It is demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit instead of committing the works of the flesh (Galatians 5: 19-23).

Why does God want us to have self-control?

The reason why God wants us to grow in self-control has to do with the rest of the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5: 22-23.

We are in a battle. As we read in 1 John 2:16: "everything in the world, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life." This is the idea that Satan has of the world, as we see in John 8:44: “You are from your father the devil, and you want to do your father's wishes. He has been a murderer from the beginning, and has not remained in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks lies, he speaks of himself; for he is a liar, and the father of lies "(1 John 2:16; John 8:44).

On the other hand, God's idea of ​​the world includes everyone demonstrating the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

How does self-control fit in? In all aspects of the fruit:  

We need self-control to demonstrate true love instead of desire or infatuation, to love others not as the world loves, but as Christ loved: "Walk in love, as Christ also loved us, and gave himself for us, fragrant offering and sacrifice to God ”(Ephesians 5: 2, emphasis added).    

We need self-control to have joy in the midst of life's difficulties. "[Jesus Christ] whom you love without having seen him, in whom believing, though now you do not see him, you rejoice with unspeakable and glorious joy" (1 Peter 1: 8).  

We need self-control to get along with others and seek peace instead of conflict. "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5: 9).  

We need self-control to endure others patiently rather than criticize them - it is not easy to be "patient with everyone" (1 Thessalonians 5:14).  

We need self - control to not only automatically search our welfare, but to be benign and seek the welfare of others (Philippians 2: 4).  

We need self-control to do good and choose to enter through the narrow door that leads to life instead of the wide door that leads to destruction (Matthew 7: 13-14).  

We need self-control to remain faithful and not let scoffers weaken our faith with their taunts (2 Peter 3: 3-4).  

We need self-control to be meek servants of the Lord and show compassion and mercy with true love as God does for us (2 Timothy 2:24).  

An example to follow

In the previous articles in this series we have highlighted several biblical characters who stood out for a particular fruit of the Spirit. But Christ being the perfect example in all respects the fruit, no one could illustrate the fruit of self-control better than He.

The story of Christ is found mainly in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), but it is also present throughout the Bible, since He is the Creator who later came to Earth as a human being (John 1: 1-4 , 14).

Their experiences and actions on Earth are the guide of every true Christian.

The life of Jesus Christ as a human being is the unsurpassed example of self-control. In order to pay the penalty for our sins, it was necessary for Jesus to live a sin-free life. This required constant self-control and the help of God. Even in the face of the obvious temptation of Satan, who tempted him with the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the boast of life, Jesus Christ never lost control (Luke 4: 1-13).

Many times he also had to control himself to allow God's will to be carried out as planned, refraining, for example, from calling legions of angels to save him from torture and death (Matthew 26: 53-54). On another occasion, he had to struggle not to go against the will of God, focusing on the spiritual rather than the physical (Matthew 26:39.

Jesus Christ is the only perfect example of self-control, as well as of all the fruit of the Spirit. And if it weren't for his self-control, we'd still be under pain of death for our sins.

An example to avoid

Where do all attitudes opposed to the fruit of the Spirit come from? Just as Jesus is the perfect example of self-control and the rest of the fruit of the Spirit, Satan is the perfect example of lack of control and the other works of the flesh (Galatians 5: 19-21).

The story of the transformation from the angel Lucifer to Satan the devil is a clear warning about the dangers of losing control (see Isaiah 14: 12-15 and Ezekiel 28: 11-19). Instead of dominating his mind, Lucero allowed his thoughts of pride and violence to grow into a spirit of rebellion.

Earlier we saw that the Bible refers to Satan as a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), it is then interesting to see what God said to Cain the first human murderer about self-control: "Why did you get mad, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be exalted? and if you do not do well, sin is at the door; With all this, it will be his desire, and you will rule over him ”(Genesis 4: 6-7).

But like Cain - who killed his brother after hearing these words - Satan did not overcome (or control) the thoughts that later led him to rebel against God.

Now, Satan "deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12: 9) and wants all human beings to love the world and its carnality, especially lack of control, since it is self-control is the only thing that keeps us from the works of the flesh and it allows us to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit.

Self-assessment of own domain

Have I lost control of some dangerous emotion or destructive sin? How does it manifest in my life?

Why is it so difficult for me to abstain from what I know is not good for me?

Would others describe me as calm and collected, or as erratic and uncontrolled? Why?

 Is my first reaction to something the fruit of the Spirit or do I lose control? Why?

How do we demonstrate more self-control?

We already know why it is so important to demonstrate self-control. But what can we do to change and grow in this fruit of the Spirit?

Keep track of the relevant experiences that happened to you in the week and what your reactions were - whether you demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit with self-control or lost control with some work of the flesh. Discuss the causes and thoughts that led to that reaction.

Have a phrase or sentence ready to help you stay in control and demonstrate the fruit of the spirit instead of reacting "naturally" when a difficult situation arises. (If someone bothers you at work, for example, tell yourself "God wants you to control me" before you lose control and insult him.)

Ask God daily to give you more of His Spirit, including the self-control necessary to demonstrate its fruit and resist temptation. The more we seek God (source of the Holy Spirit) through prayer, Bible study, meditation, and fasting, the more self-control we will have to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. Aim to increase the effort and time you spend on these spiritual tools.

As we said in the first article in this series, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is the way in which the character and the gospel of God are manifested in the thoughts and actions of a Christian. Our task is to announce the Kingdom of God and his justice through our behavior. May God help us to develop and live according to the fruit of his Spirit.