home > Pastor’s Desk > 2024 > May 10th > Knowing God Through The Fruit of The Spirit

KNOWING GOD THROUGH THE FRUIT
OF THE SPIRIT

“It is not good to eat much honey …” (Prov.25:27) I’m sure you can picture an occasion where food delicacies are served and someone is there who has lost all sense of decorum to the point of being rude to get to the food before others and is unable or unwilling to engage in any level of conversation for the sake of finding the choicest of foods. Maybe that was you or me on occasions. Or an All You Can Eat challenge restaurant. It is a picture of complete lack of self-restraint (especially if Homer Simpson is involved). Whilst we are away, I am looking forward to visiting a town (Kenilworth) with a bakery tourist attraction that sells 1kg doughnuts. I’m not sure what will happen there, but I can imagine many have risen to a challenge.

The next verse in proverbs says

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

Well, that would leave the city very vulnerable even though there had been walls all around. The proverb was written in a horrible point in history when spring was ‘the time kings go to war’. The walls once would have been very strong and provided a great protection and security, unlike the surrounding villages, but now its first line of defence is gone. I see this city as a desolate place. There may have been great wealth in it at some stage, which made it appealing to be broken into in the first place. If one verse has any connection to the next, a lack of self control does lend to acquiring unnecessarily and on a whim – adding to the amount of booty. Now it is left without. A lot of ‘stuff’ had been taken and it has lost its impenetrable boundary. This is a physical example to make a point about a mental problem – a battle of will in the mind.

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things…
1 Cor 9:25

The Bible makes it clear that self-control helps you achieve goals. In this verse, we have an athlete controlling ALL things. That could include their diet, their exercise and strength routine and we are told that much success in sports is a mental strength. They have to push through the discomfort, inconvenience, unbelief in their abilities, their fears, the perceived need of the goal, the missing out of other activities and distractions. The athlete is left with a grit and determination. They are able to stand against the buffeting and they must ‘take captive every thought’ (2 Cor.10:5)

Contrasting this is the lack of self-control. It leaves a person vulnerable and tossed with every new idea that comes. We have a lot to lose rather than just flagrant spending on ’treat’ food or unnecessary possessions. We can lose the core of who we are- our values. We live in a society that buffets this. In the Bible we are likened to sheep, who like to stay as a flock. Society is often led into a mob mentality, where we lower ourselves to the lowest common denominator in an attempt to ‘not stick out’ or be different. But in reality, we are aliens in this world. We are different and have distinctive if we really are Christians. We are children of light in a dark world – we are ambassadors for Christ. In a world of competing values, we need to hold every thought captive and maintain self control or our values will falter.

When I turned 50 Andrew shook his head smirking. He wondered, ‘how did she get to this age and still be so immature!’ I told him that my life was all about maintenance and I face responsibility, but I’m playful. Maintenance, self-control and responsibility are very boring words, but they are a huge part of maturity and satisfaction in life. Without it, we are left very vulnerable, where values melt away in circumstances. It is with discipline that I read my Bible. Each time I read it, it reminds me and it strengthens me in my understanding of God. It is with discipline that I exercise regularly to maintain strength and fitness. It is with routine that I cook food for my family to receive nutrition. It is a consistent choice to make home a place where my family want to be. It is by self-control that I maintain how I treat people, that I pray, come to church and do what I believe God wants me to. It is not always easy and it’s not always fun, but it definitely brings the best out of me and helps me to be productive, rather than destructive. It builds a very strong foundation for a safe, productive and fulfilled life.

But the fruit of the Spirit is … self-control!!
Galatians 5:22-23

Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. We, as Christians, are a people of values and aspirations, we are ambassadors and examples of Christ to our community. But our values mean nothing if we can’t stick to them in difficult times. Our aspirations of being who God wants us to be will be ineffective if we waiver in our ability to stand strong and we are very poor role models if we are living a life of hypocrisy. Since it is one of the fruit of the Spirit, it means God also has this self-control. We like this in HIM … otherwise, I’m sure in His frustration of me I would have been wiped away on numerous occasions. Instead, we can rely on His consistency. If His promises and character was one thing back then in Bible times, it will still be the same in millennia after we are gone. If He promises to love us, to save us, to provide for us, to protect us, to lead us, to never leave nor forsake us, to always hear our prayers – we can count on Him … forever. He is steadfast and has self-control. What comfort.

Amen.​

Your Executive Pastor,

Kim

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