Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”

And now in the orchard of the Fruit of the Spirit…

we come to what for me is the fruit highest and farthest out on the branch – self-control. Anybody else struggle with this one? From a spiritual perspective, one generally thinks of self-control as abstinence from sinful practices – the “big ones” like don’t murder, lust, steal, lie, etc. And while those are most valid, today we are going to look at the “other” self-control, those daily practices that are the building bricks to our lives which help us produce some of the other fruit we have already discussed in earlier posts here: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness,

Webster’s dictionary defines self-control as “restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions and desires.” The Greek word used in the New Testament verse in Galatians is transliterated egkrateia, “the virtue of one who masters his desires and appetites.”

Ahhh.. appetites, let’s start with that one, as it relates to our own health. Here’s an everyday obstacle that so easily trips us up on our journey to the healthiest body we desire. In her book Healthy by Design (and YouVersion devotional), Cathy Morenzie writes about Daniel in the Old Testament and how he was determined to stay committed to his spiritual and dietary principles and choices. The phrase she used which resonates with me was, “You will only eat foods that will build your body and not case it any harm.” What I love about this is that you must mindfully and intentionally choose foods that are the healthiest for you… self-control.

We must also practice self-control when it comes to exercise. It’s easy to stay in bed and not rise early to exercise. It’s easy to drive past that gym after a long day at the office and swear you will go then next day. Raise your hand if you’re guilty, and yes, I have driven past the gym on many occasions while my packed gym bag was waiting patiently in my car. It’s easy to sit on that couch watching TV or surfing the internet instead of working out at home. Let’s face it, the complete antithesis of self-control is the toxic mantra of “I’ll get to it later.”

But… how do we add self-control to our fruit salad? Do we reach out in love to help someone else when it’s messy and uncomfortable? Use resolve to restrain our words to keep the peace, to be patience when it would be easier to criticize or complain, or give up altogether? To change our attitude in order to be kind? To stay faithful to a friendship when it would be easier to walk away? Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

And what about our thoughts, how can we use self-control there? How about capturing that stream of negative self-talk that beats you up and down? Those discouraging words inside your head that whisper “you’re fat, you’re stupid, you’re not worthy, you’re unlovable, you’re too young/old, remember past failures, past history, you’ll never amount to anything, you’ll never be able to do, to be, or achieve (fill in the blank). 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that we are to be “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” Whenever my negative self-voice screams these accusations into my brain (which, may I add, happy pretty much, hmmmm…. all the time), I am to use self-control to choose to replace these LIES with the truth that I am loved (John 3:16), I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139) and God has a wonderful plan for my life that will give me a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11), and that I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).

So there you have it, a scratch on the surface of how we can incorporate the fruit of self-control into the reality of everyday living. Join us HERE to talk about this more, and share with our community on your struggles and victories when reaching for this fruit!