The Fruit of Self Control

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Prov. 25:28)

 “Oh no! I did it again.”  How many times have we all found ourselves in the situation that leads to such a thought?  We tried to control ourselves, but that one thing that just always seems to creep back into our lives overtook our willpower once again.  Yes, we gave in to temptation.

Of course, the term for this characteristic referenced in the scripture may be a bit misleading.  For it is not really “self” control that we possess, so much as it is “Spirit-control.”  We have been given the ability to restrain ourselves through the help of the Holy Spirit living within us, as believers.  We are told in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)  That one passage is reason enough to believe that we are quite capable of bearing the fruit of self-control in our lives.

Yet, it’s a likely scenario, both for the nonbeliever and the Christ follower.  It can be very difficult to keep our fleshly urges under control, whether those urges are overeating, lusting, drinking heavily or drugs, cheating, stealing, lying, or any other number of sins.  The difference between us and those who are not born again through the shed blood of Christ is that we have been granted power above what we are humanly capable of possessing.  We are not powerless to change our situation.  We have the Holy Spirit working in us.

Now, before I go any farther on this topic, I do want to clarify something relating to this topic of self-control that could easily be taken out of context.  I know from personal experience that for some people self-control can be taken to dangerous levels when it gets over into a controlling mindset.  If you have found this to be a problem in your life, be sure that you are following the Spirit of God inside of you, and not just trying to control things on your own.  This can and will always lead to failure and can even be dangerous when we attempt to depend on our own strength.

Exercising self-control often means that we put other people before ourselves.  It often involves putting the good of a group ahead of the good of an individual.  We see this when we look at sports teams.  To be sure, good teams have athletes who stand out from all of the others on the team.  But if every athlete is always trying to get his time in the limelight, the entire team will suffer.  Successful teams always have players that defer to one another when necessary in order to win the victory.

When we seek to practice self-control in our lives, we must take care that we do not become wimps. Jonathan Edwards offers helpful advice by saying that when it comes to matters of truth and integrity, we cannot yield to other people.  If someone is teaching obvious heresy, for example, exercising self-control and behaving in a manner appropriate to the situation means that we call attention to the matter and stand up for the truth.  Following the Spirit of God will produce self-control in a balanced way and it will never be based on fear or obsession.  Remember, God calls us to live balanced lives (See Peter 5:8), which means we can enjoy things in moderation.

Thankfully, God knows our weakness, and He also knows the remedy!  The Bible says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22–23)  The only way to gain self-control is by allowing the Holy Spirit to control us.

Is the fruit of self-control demonstrating itself in your life?  Take some time to look at all areas of your life, including relationships, to see whether you are exercising self-control.  Ask God to grant you the wisdom to understand how you might better control yourself in all situations.

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