A Life Lived for God, Part II

It may seem an odd thing to do, but I'm going to "work backwards." I am going to start with the last fruit of the Spirit, self-control, and work up to the crowning and most beautiful fruit, love. With that said, let us begin to understand what Paul means by self-control and how that understanding will change us for God's glory.

The dictionary defines self-control as control or restraint of oneself or one's actions, feelings, etc. This is actually a decent definition. I prefer the word restraint because I think it provides better clarity. Paul calls us to restrain ourselves. We have to hold back. This particular fruit tells us something about ourselves. It tells us that we have something in us that must be restrained. What is it? Why, our sin nature, of course. We have built into us a nature that desires sin above all else. We seek to satisfy ourselves above all other things. Because of original sin, we are this way from birth. I refuse to say that it (the sin nature) is natural for us to sin because we were created in a different way. We were created to be God's children. We were created to glorify Him, but we don't. So, we are acting in an unnatural way. This tells me that we have gone way off-track. We have strayed far from our original purpose, which is why sin seems so "natural" to us. The fall had so great an effect on us that it made what was unnatural natural and what was natural unnatural. Therefore, it is necessary for us to have self-control. We must restrain what in unnatural in us. We have to rewire our circuits and in order to do this we have to keep the poorly wired circuits from working.

Paul, as usual, provides a good example of a struggle with self-control (don't worry, we will get to Jesus soon enough). Romans 7 is a wonderful display of what it means to fight a battle between our natural and unnatural selves. Paul writes:

Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:13-24)

Paul shares his struggle of self-control. To some, it may seem so simple, but honestly it is the most difficult battle most of us will fight. Why? Because it is battle against our own pride, it is a war against an unnatural will. Reading over the fruit of the Spirit, I was surprised to finally realize that humility was absent. Humility is often lauded as the supreme of Christian virtue, yet it is remarkably missing from this list. Or, is it? Yielding our will to God's will (self-control) is humility. It is a giving up of our own pridefulness, our own way and shifting our focus to God alone. Paul phrases it in this way: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (I Corinthians 6:19-20)

By now, some people (the very few who actually read this blog) might be asking, does this mean we are no longer individuals? Aren't we, by giving up our selves, ceasing to be ourselves? No, that is the beauty of this whole deal. By practicing self-control, we are becoming our TRUE selves. We are becoming the natural selves we were supposed to have been. Exercising self-control produces not only humility, but also a beginning of a change, the complete rewiring of our souls. It will be difficult and uncomfortable because we have become so used to our unnatural selves, our controlling selves. Don't worry though. We have a perfect example to follow. He is the Example that will never leads us astray. His name is Jesus (told you I would get to him). How was Christ the quinnessential display of self-control? The written Word tells us:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:1-11)

So, next time you feel the tug of sin and the unnatural nature look unto Christ. Remember he showed the greatest restraint of self. It is because of our lack of self-control he had to leave his throne in Heaven. I don't say this to guilt you into good behavior. It should humble you, and though this humility, we should be grateful to yield our control. Not guilt, but gratefulness.

In closing, never forget that Christ has not left us alone to perfect ourselves. He has left his Holy Spirit. God be praised!

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)