April 13
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
Picking up with our list of the fruit of the Spirit, in order to help us discern if and when we are filled with the Spirit, gentleness goes hand in hand with patience and kindness for other people, as we just mentioned yesterday. Are we gentle with people, or are we rough in the way we speak to them or harsh in the way we respond to them? Is there any hint of impatience or disinterest or anything that makes the person not want to interact with us any more? Are we prickly in our speech, perhaps condescending or subtly tearing them down or making them feel inferior? We all know people like this, and I confess I have been harsh and impatient with others many times, mostly my family members, I am ashamed to say. Don’t be like that. If harshness characterizes your interactions with others in any way, repent of that immediately! Go to them and ask their forgiveness, and cry out to God for a renewed, gentle spirit and uplifting speech.
Finally, we come to self-control. Where would we be without self-control? We all have self-control to some extent, and we could all point to areas where we demonstrate self-control. But I think the real question is, in what areas do we lack self-control? I think this question tells us a lot more about ourselves than where we demonstrate self-control. It seems to me that if there are areas where we clearly don’t have self-control, then those areas where we do demonstrate self-control may be due more to habit or circumstance, or a subconscious self-preservation mode that kicks in to prevent total self-destruction.
I don’t know, but I tend to think that if we have certain rooms in our homes that are clean and tidy, and we have other rooms that are a complete mess, we can’t claim that our home is clean and organized. I tend to think that if we clearly lack self-control in certain areas, that is, certain sins that we are prone to committing, then we are at risk of all areas of our lives lacking self-control, and it is simply a matter of time before the cancer of that lack of self-control spreads to all areas of our lives. I think that when we are filled with the Spirit, all areas of our lives will be characterized by self-control, both in our actions and in our speech. A lack of self-control in any area is evidence of someone who is not filled with the Spirit.
If you compare yourself to these nine evidences of the Spirit and you see in yourself a lack, even great shortcomings, be encouraged. First of all, just to see the areas where you are lacking is a great step forward and the first step to progress. Second, change happens when we know clearly what we need to change and earnestly entreat God to show us what to do and to produce that godly change in us. It is not unlike any goal in life for which we strive, the more focus and effort we put into it, the better the progress we will make. Spiritual progress is very similar. How badly do you want to change? How badly do you want to be filled with the Spirit? Tomorrow we will look at other evidences of being filled with the Spirit, and then the day after we will talk more about how to be filled with the Spirit more often and to a greater degree.