The Fruit Of Self-Control Series

One of the things that made Lincoln so great was his marvelous self-control. The nation was

coming apart at the seams with a civil war that had everybody's emotions operating at extremes. To

add to the tension, some army contractors were ripping off the government. This made Lincoln very

angry. Seward, his Secretary of State wrote a scathing letter to a thieving contractor, and showed it

to Lincoln. "Not half strong enough" said Lincoln. Seward was delighted. He wrote another letter

that scorched the paper. "There" said the president, "that serves him right!" "Very well, Mr.

President, I'll mail it at once", said Seward. "Oh no", said Lincoln, "don't mail it, throw it into the

waste basket."

Lincoln knew he could not afford to alienate any more people if he was going to win the war. So

he controlled his desire to blast those taking advantage of the situation for personal gain. If Lincoln

would have sent all the nasty letters he wrote, he probably would have lost the war. His self-control

is, in great measure, the cause of why we are a free nation. It is not enough that Lincoln was a good

man, for had he not been a self-controlled man, all his goodness could have been in vain.

This last fruit of the Spirit is not at the end, as a sign that it is the least important of the nine. It is,

in fact, essential to keep all the others from being perverted. Every virtue can become a negative

thing if it is not controlled. Even love needs the balance that comes with self-control. Christians are

to love members of the opposite sex in Christ. This caring, loving spirit, however, can cross the line

and lead to love, not just in the spirit, but in the flesh. The number of Christians who have crossed

that line by lack of self-control are legion. It is the fruit of self-control that tells a believer when they

are getting out of balance, and letting the flesh be their guide rather than the Spirit of God.

If love can go bad because of lack of self-control, then so can all the other fruits. Joy out of

control can lead to extremes of wildness that are pagan. Peace and patience can be so extreme that it

leads to lethargy and indifference to a hurting world. Kindness can lead one to be so sugary sweet

that people gag on it, and avoid it as being superficial. You find this once in awhile in a waiter or

waitress, who you know is going overboard in sweet talk, hoping for a greater tip.

The point is, everything good can become bad if it goes to excess. The Mississippi River is one

of the best assets of our nation, but when it overflows we have the worst floods in the nation, and it is

a curse. It is a good thing out of control, and a good thing out of control is a bad thing. That is why

self-control is the key to keeping all of these fruits of the Spirit from going bad. They never rot and

go bad as long as they are linked to self-control.

The movie Jurassic Park is based on this theme. It was an awesome world of great wonder until

the control system was lost-then it became a nightmare. The Christian life can be a world of

wondrous beauty, but then it can turn ugly if self-control is lost. History is filled with examples of

the beautiful Bride of Christ becoming an ugly hag because she lost self-control. There have been

periods of history when the fruit of the Spirit dried up, and the church looked more like the bride of

Frankinstein.

Great have been the numbers who have fallen because of lack of control of their sex drive. But

many more have become ugly by the loss of control of their tongue. James 3:6 says, "the tongue

also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the

whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." All of us carry a portion of hell fire

around in our mouth, and if we lose control of it we can be as destructive as a fire-breathing dragon

spewing out flames of gossip and slander that turn reputations to ashes in seconds.

We need to realize there are enemies ever banging at the gates of our lives, but they have little

power unless we throw them the key by loss of self-control. This last fruit is no mere caboose that

can be taken off the train with no ill effects. This final fruit is vital to keeping the whole train on the

tracks. It keeps all the other fruits fresh and appealing to both God and man.