THE SPIRIT OF SELF-CONTROL

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV 1984) But the fruit of the Spirit is … self-control.

Fruit is the by-product of something else, an expression of its essence. An orange is the expressed essence of an orange tree, a cluster of grapes the expressed essence of a grape vine. Let’s go with the vine for a minute, since Jesus actually calls Himself a vine (Jn 15:1), and since as believers we have the Spirit of Jesus living in us (Phil 1:19; 1 Jn 4:13). Because Jesus is our vine and we are His branches, we have a fruit being produced in us that is the expressed essence of the Spirit of Jesus, and one of the specific fruits He produces in us is self-control. Oh that word, “self-control.” It seems drab, restrictive, and impossible, with a bit of self-condemnation on top. It is the one attribute that we overly expect in others, and insufficiently deliver in ourselves. But let’s not wallow in self-condemnation, since it is incapable of delivering self-control, for self-control is not a fruit of self-condemnation, but a fruit of the Spirit. So what exactly is self-control? And does the word itself not smack of human effort and striving where there should be divine activity and trust?

First of all, self-control is something we do. It is control that we exact on ourselves, as the word itself implies; yet, it is considered a fruit of something deeper. This is how Christianity works. We do not save or sanctify ourselves. Jesus alone saves! But we have our part in cooperating with what He does in us, availing ourselves to His divine work in us. We partner with Him by allowing Him to produce His character (fruit) in us. How? When I choose to exercise control over myself it is I who am having the control, yet not I, but the grace of God working in me (1 Cor 15:10). “I, yet not I” is the theme of how our Christian faith works. So again, what exactly is self-control? When I have self-control I do not act or speak in the heat of the moment, rather I weigh the situation out, even if that weighing occurs in micro-seconds. My actions, or words, come only after having been filtered through “I, yet not I”, or rather my mind, yet not my mind, but the mind of Spirit that dwells in me. If I routinely speak my mind without this filtering, I am not a self-controlled person; and if I routinely act on unfiltered impulses or addictive tendencies, I am not a self-controlled person; I am a self-indulgent person. I am bearing the fruit of the flesh, or to put it another way, I am out of control. Isn’t it interesting that in any other area of life being out of control makes us very nervous and unsettled, but when it comes our own behavior, it is is somehow considered freedom of expression? How I speak and act reveals source. It is the fruit of something else, an expression of its essence. Therefore, if my life seems to be out of control, I have a source and essence problem, more than a behavior problem. This is good news to me. To fix my out of control behavior I need to focus less on my behavior and more on the source and essence behind it. If I fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith (Heb 12:2), I fix my eyes on a source and essence that exacts a different behavior out of me – fruit of the Spirit, which includes self-control. If being out of control is a problem for us, then maybe its time to review what makes up the essence of our lives.