Fruit of Self-control
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December 20, 2015 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"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).
We can see in this world that those who do not have self-control make their lives complex and cause difficulties for themselves. Also, although they know they have to manage and care for their families, those who are addicted to gambling or other forms of pleasure ruin their families because they cannot control themselves.
The fruit of self-control is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit God's children have to bear, and it is especially important for anybody to lead a successful life.
1. Importance of Self-control
Self-control is restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires. It controls all things to make everything stand stable and firm.
A person with weak self-control has difficulty exercising restraint. That's why such a person does not find it easy to live the life of a believer. When we listen to the Word of God and receive God's grace, we make up our minds not to take in flesh any more, but we may still be tempted by the world again.
We can see this in the words that come from our lips. Many people pray to make their lips holy and perfect. But in their lives, they forget what they prayed for, and they just speak as they wish, following old habits.
Some people soon complain or become resentful if they have some difficulties or see something that is hard for them to understand. Also, some people like talking so much that they cannot stop once they start. They do not have discernment between things that they should say and should not, so they make many mistakes.
The fruit of self-control, as in one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, does not simply refer to controlling ourselves from committing sins. The self-control as in one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit controls other fruits of the Holy Spirit to make them perfect.
When other fruits of the Spirit born in heart are shown externally self-control functions as an arbitration center that establishes and maintains harmony and order. Even when we take something good in the Lord, the most is not always the best. We say that something in excess is worse than something deficient. In spirit, too, we have to do everything in moderation following the desires of the Holy Spirit.
For example, even though we have the fruit of joy, we cannot just express our joy anywhere and anytime. Even though the joy of receiving salvation is so great, we need to control it according to the situation. It is important to have self-control when we are faithful to God as well. Especially, if you have many duties, you have to allocate your time appropriately so you can be where you need to be the most at the appropriate time.
It's the same with all other fruits of the Holy Spirit, including love, mercy, goodness, etc. When the fruits that are borne in heart are shown in deeds, we have to follow the guidance and voice of the Holy Spirit to make it the most appropriate. We can prioritize work to be done first and that which can be done later. We can determine whether we should go forward or step back. We can have this kind of discernment through this fruit of the self-control.
2. If we bear the fruit of self-control…
First, we will follow the order in all things.
We understand our position in the order. We understand when we should act and when we should not. We also know when to speak and what we should say and when we should not speak at all. So, we don't argue with and misunderstand others. We don't do anything that is inappropriate or things that go beyond the limits of our position. However, if you don't have self-control, you may break the order and exceed the authority of your position.
For example, suppose a president of a company asked the chief manager to do something in particular. This manager is full of passion and he feels that he has a better idea, so he changed some things at his discretion and did the work accordingly. Then, even though he worked with so much passion, it means he did not keep the order due to lack of self-control.
Second, we can consider the contents, the timing, and location.
For example, to cry out in prayer is something good, but if you cry out anywhere you want to, it may disgrace God. Also, when you preach the gospel or visit the members for spiritual guidance, you should have discernment over the words you speak. Even though you may have personally received much grace from the contents of spiritual message, you mustn't just spread it to everybody.
If you deliver something that is not suitable for the measure of faith of the listener, it may cause that person to stumble or pass judgment and condemnation. In some cases, you may catch a person when the person is busy and relate your testimony. Although the person may listen to you, you are probably disrupting him because he is busy and his mind is elsewhere.
However good the content is, it is difficult to touch that person without proper self-control in such a situation.
Third, you can deal with each situation with proper discernment, not impatiently but calmly.
Those who have no self-control are impatient and lack consideration for others. As they hurry, they have less power to properly discern and miss some important things. That is why we should not impatiently interrupt while someone else is talking. We should listen carefully until the end so we avoid hasty conclusions. Furthermore, in this way we can understand the intention of that person and deal with it properly.
Those who have self-control will not be easily shaken by other people's words. They can calmly listen to others and can discern the truth by the works of the Holy Spirit. If they discern with self-control and answer, they can reduce many mistakes that may be caused due to improper decisions. To that extent, they will have the authority and weight to their words, so their words can have a heavier impact on others.
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