THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF CONTROL
GALATIANS 5:22-23
We have been studying the Fruits of the Spirit. We have discovered that the nine fruit Paul listed in Galatians 5 can be divided into three clusters of three fruit each.
The first category (cluster) deals primarily with the inward aspects of a life lived in the Spirit.
These fruit of Love, Joy and Peace deal with our relationship with God.
The second cluster: Patience, Kindness, and Goodness have to do with our relationship with those around us; with others.
Today we come to the last cluster: FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF CONTROL. These fruit have to do with our intimate relationships and our own attitudes.
Before we move into an actual discussion of these three fruit, notice the priority system that Paul has established for the Christian. Our first priority in life is God. As Jesus expressed it, "We are to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness." Our second priority is to be others. Then and only then comes self.
If we allow these priorities to get out of sink, we will have problems. If we do not have God first in our life, we have no hope of seeing the fruit of the Spirit coming to bear in the way we live. If our job comes first, we are out of God’s will. If our parents, or our spouse or our children come before God, then we are not enjoying the Christian life to its’ fullest.
Be honest! When do things seem to be the worst in your life? I’ll tell you when it is for me. It is when I get my priorities out of order and I depend on self instead of God. When do Gretchen and I have the most trouble? It’s when I get my priorities out of order and I depend on Steve instead of Jehovah God. We tend to forget that it is God who brings order to life not we ourselves.
Notice also, that we are to put others ahead of ourselves on our priority list. This is probably the hardest thing of all. We are taught to watch out for good ole number one. We place a higher premium on receiving our rights instead of living up to our responsibilities. It is only when we put God first, serving others second and self third that we experience contentment in life.
In Christian Reader Digest, Ken Walker writes about Clay Shiver. In the 1995 college football season 6-foot-2-inch, 280-pound Clay Shiver, played center for the Florida State Seminoles. He was regarded as one of the best in the nation. In fact, one magazine wanted to name him to their preseason All-American football team. But that was a problem, because the magazine was Playboy, and Clay Shiver is a dedicated Christian.”
“Shiver and the team chaplain suspected that Playboy would select him, and so he had time to prepare his response. Shiver knew well what a boon this could be for his career. Being chosen for this All-American team meant that sportswriters regarded him as the best in the nation at his position. Such publicity never hurts athletes who aspire to the pros and to multimillion dollar contracts.”
“But Shiver had higher values and priorities. When informed that Playboy had made their selection, Clay Shiver simply said, ‘No thanks.’ That’s right, he flatly turned down the honor. ‘Clay didn’t want to embarrass his mother and grandmother by appearing in the magazine or giving old high school friends an excuse to buy that issue,’ writes Walker. Shiver further explained by quoting Luke 12:48: ‘To whom much is given, of him much is required.’”
Shiver who went on to play in the NFL for the Cowboys, Broncos, and Panthers said, “I don’t want to let anyone down,” said Shiver, “and number one on that list is God” (Larson, p. 53).
The first fruit that Paul lists in this final cluster is FAITHFULNESS. What faithfulness really means here is TRUSTWORTHINESS -- LOYALTY --STEADFASTNESS. It is interesting to note that the Greek word used in this text is PISTIS which is the same word translated as FIDELITY. More exactly, fidelity in marriage.
Hopefully we have an idea of what it means to have fidelity in marriage. A person commits him or herself to a reliable relationship. A faithful husband or wife can be counted on to live up to their part of the marriage covenant. We know that person is there for us. When the day is over, we do not doubt they will be coming back to us.
A person who is filled with the Spirit can be counted on to do what is right. What we say we believe is witnessed to by what we do. If we give our word; if we say we are going to do something we are trustworthy. Our word is our bond. Our "yes" means "yes" and our "no" means "no".
We live in a time when trust is often drawn into question. We have placed our trust in spouses, employees, elected officials, the system - only to have ourselves burned. With this weeks death of ENRON president Kenneth Lay many old wounds of resurfaced. For many of us, the pain of infidelity still cuts deep. Friends, this should not be said of us. We should be known for our faithfulness; our fidelity. We have a great opportunity to witness to our faith and to our God by simply being reliable in our relationships.
Fred Craddock, Professor Emeritus in preaching at Chandler in an address to ministers, caught the practical implications of consistent faithfulness. "To give my life for Christ appears glorious," he said. "To pour myself out for others. . . to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom -- I’ll do it. I’m ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory. "We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking $l,000 bill and laying it on the table-- ’Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.’ But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $l,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid’s troubles instead of saying, ’Get lost.’ Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home. Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it’s harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul."
This is faithfulness—fidelity. Living the Christian life over the long haul.
The second fruit listed here is GENTLENESS. The King James Version uses the word, MEEKNESS. We often think if a person is referred to as gentle that that individual is weak, possibly even a coward.
I read that a man named J. Upton Dickson founded a group called DOORMATS. The acronym stands for "Dependent Organization Of Really Meek And Timid Souls." Their motto was: "The meek shall inherit the earth -- if that’s okay with everybody." Their symbol was the yellow traffic light, whose message is, Slow down and prepare to yield the right of way to others.
The Greek adjective here is PRAUS which is used to describe an animal that has been tamed and brought under control.
One of my favorite movies is, The Man From Snowy River. In this story there is a beautiful stallion. Whenever he is running down the side of the mountain, his muscles are bulging out with strength. Whenever he stands up on his back hooves, one cannot help but admire his grace and power. But the horse was out of control. Instead of being an asset, he was a menace, leaving destruction behind and leading other horse astray. Not until the hero captures the stallion and brings his power under control does the animal become valuable. The strength was there all along but it was not guided in the right direction.
I believe this is the image Paul had in mind when he was speaking of the Fruit of the Spirit called gentleness. As a child of God, the strength is here, but it must be harnessed and used for the glory of God.
Perhaps William Barclay catches the spirit of Gentleness in his commentary on the Beatitude which reads:
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth".
He suggests rewording it this way:
"Blessed is the man who is always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time."
As Christians, there are times when we should be angry and take action. When we think of Jesus we see a gentle savior who could reach out and touch a leper or hold a child in his arms yet at the same time would become angry at the misuse of his Father’s temple and ran out the money changers.
Perhaps we Christians have been too reserved. Maybe it is time we became a little bit angry. No; gentleness is not weakness, it is Holy Spirit directed strength.
Now we come to the last fruit of the spirit that Paul lists: SELF-CONTROL. This one means just what it sounds like. This fruit of the spirit is the ability to keep yourself, your body, your mind and your spirit in check. It means self discipline.
When John Wesley was a student at Oxford, his mother Suzanne wrote him a letter which included these words:
"Anything which increases the authority of the body over the mind is a evil thing."
When we allow the Spirit to take complete control of our heart, he will teach us self-control; discipline.
Self-control. Discipline. Boy this is hard. At least it is for me. Of the nine fruit this is the one I wish Paul had left off. More often than not I feel as if I am out of control. How about you? Do you ever feel this way? Is there something about your life; your body, that has control over you? If so, we are not alone. The apostle Paul agonized over the same problems. He once wrote:
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do....I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing.
Our problem is that we have not allowed the Holy Spirit to be in control. It’s not something that just happens. It is something we must work at all the time. Just as athlete works hard to control every muscle of his or her body to make it do the best it can, we must labor to yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit.
One of the books I am reading is titled, Momentum for Life. What convicted me to buy the book was a quote by the author Michael Slaughter on the back of the book. The quote said, “If you can’t lead yourself, you won’t be effective in leading others. Self leadership precedes strategic leadership.”
During his term as President of the U.S., Lyndon Johnson was somewhat overweight. One day his wife challenged him with this blunt assertion: "You can’t run the country if you can’t run yourself." Respecting Mrs. Johnson’s wise observation, the President lost 23 pounds.
This is at the heart of self control. If we cannot lead self we cannot effectively lead other. I seek your forgiveness for my lack of self control when it comes to my health if it has hinder my leadership as your pastor. I need your prayers.
I read an interesting story. It stated that men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple. They’ve been catching this agile little animal with ease for years. The method the Zulus use is based on knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. This he cannot do. His fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. But he can’t get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and nab him. (SOURCE: Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p.150ff)
As I read this, I could not help but think about many Christians. It seems to me that the evil one has discovered that the best way to rendered a Christian ineffective and thus defeated is not necessarily the horrendous things but by attacking us subtly, through our passions and our lack of self control. He realizes that there are some things we want so badly that we risk anything. Our lack of self control causes us to grab it and not let go even to our own failure.
What is it about our nature that we cannot control? The evil one will attach us there!
Well, have you been keeping a score card the last three weeks? What’s the tally? Are you bearing Fruit of the Spirit? If you have discovered an area that you are not bearing the fruit you think you should, don’t beat yourself up about it. Do something that is far more productive: pray about it. Ask God to help you yield that part of your life to the Holy Spirit.
