About

What things are we supposed to self-controlled from? How does that work? Does God really care about all the little details of our lives, or do we just have to follow Him the the big decisions? Show Notes: Today we’re finishing off the Fruit of the Spirit list in Galatians 5 with self-control. The Greek word is egkrateia, and it means “dominion within.” Self-control is the idea that nothing controls us but us. In the context of the Fruit of the Spirit, however, self-control would be better translated as “Spirit-controlled.” Egkrateia has more to do with the actions we don’t take than the actions we do take, but in every respect, we are to be controlled by the Spirit. Everything we do and don’t do should be because that is what God has asked of us. The reason we need egkrateia in the first place is because of the indwelling sin nature we all still have. Because of Adam’s sin, we have all been born into sin and are bound for hell because of it. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin on the cross and also made it possible for us to have His righteousness. This doesn’t take away the sin nature we were born with, however. It only takes away our need to obey our sin nature. We no longer have to follow it. But the pull toward sin still exists. We can all feel it. The only way to do the right thing, to do anything other than sin, is by the power of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling sin nature usually pulls us toward things that have an immediate reward but negative lasting effects. It takes lots of different forms, everything from eating sweets we don’t need and watching too much television to extramarital sex and murder. It’s easy to think that if we’re only doing the “little things,” it doesn’t really matter. It’s easy to think that God doesn’t have a plan for our lives in the tiny, mundane things but only in the larger “more important” things. We tell ourselves that when something big comes along, we’ll follow the Spirit and make the right choices. What I think we often forget is that there are two masters in this world that we can serve: God and everything that stands against Him—which is the world, the flesh, and the devil. Every single thing we do is for one side or the other. There is no middle ground, no action that is neither good nor bad. Your choice of how you spend every minute of your free time, every penny of your money, and every ounce of your strength is either good or bad. I think if we really get this, it should terrify us. How can we possibly know whether what we’re doing is right or wrong when it comes to small things? How can we say ‘no’ to the things of this world when the desire can be overwhelming? It’s one thing to say ‘no’ to murder. It’s quite another to deny ourselves that last brownie or extra scoop of ice cream or TV show we like to binge. The answer is egkrateia, Spirit-control. The Holy Spirit lives in us. He is what changes us to be more like Christ. He is what gives us wisdom in our decisions, pricks our conscience, and gives us the strength to say no to sin and yes to righteousness. We know non-believers don’t have self-control in the same way that believers can have it, but they do have some kind of self-control. What’s the difference? If non-believers are always fulfilling their own wants and desires, how is it that they can also say ‘no’ to their wants and desires? This is a very good question, and I think answering it will help to distinguish Spirit-control from self-control. Self-control is still always about what we want, but it values future gains over present ones. I want to have my weight under control. In order to do that, I have to eat well, exercise, etc. I also want to buy and eat that cheesecake in the store. Which want is greater? Which goal can I visualize more clearly in the moment? If the smoothness of the cheesecake in my mouth is a greater pull than being healthy, I’ll buy the cheesecake. On the other hand, if I can imagine all the benefits of being healthy—better sleep, less pain, more happiness, being comfortable in my own skin—and that outweighs the desire for cheesecake, then I won’t buy it. Being able to visualize a later goal and put off gratification is all non-believers have for self-control, and they’re often not very good at it. This is more obvious, I think, in wealthier cultures. When our immediate needs are met without much struggle, we tend to use our spare time and money on things that are not at all good for us in the long run. There are so many books and other media about the value of visualizing a long term goal so that we can put off gratification for our own good, but it doesn’t sink in. Spirit-control gives us the extra edge we need. Not only do we have more power to fight the desire for instant gratification, we have a brighter, more solid “why” to look to. It’s not just what I want later versus what I want now, self fighting self. It’s what does God want versus what do I want now, flesh versus God. Without the Spirit, that battle would be hopeless, but now our transformed hearts want to do what God wants. Even better, anytime we do what God wants, we receive a burst of Spirit-enabled joy. This is a more powerful reward than the enjoyment we get from following the flesh into sin, which means we are reinforced to do the right thing. So how do we cultivate this facet of fruit in our lives? You guessed it; step one is pray. When we lose sight of God and what He wants from us, the pull toward the flesh is overpowering and often even unnoticed in our lives because of its prevalence. In order to be woken from our mindless following the whims of the flesh, we need to pray for God to open our eyes to where we are not following Him. Maybe it’s the pull to waste time by checking your phone every five minutes or playing too many video games. Maybe it’s watching too much TV or not exercising. These things are not insignificant. If you weren’t wasting time every day doing things just to pass the time, what could you accomplish for the Kingdom? Who could you encourage? Who could you witness to or build up in the faith? What books could you write? What skills or hobbies could you use to bless others? We have been given such a blessing to live in a place where we don’t have to work every second of our lives just to feed and clothe ourselves, yet we waste so much of the extra time on things that will never last. Pray that God will open your eyes and give you the strength to resist the flesh and do the work He has set before you. Step two is to look for opportunities. If we are Spirit-controlled against doing things that are worthless, there must be things we can do that are worthwhile. Look for those opportunities. Don’t just look for ways to amuse yourself or pass the time. Find fulfilling outlets for the creativity and skills God has given you. There is a place for rest and rejuvenation, but most of us spend doing things that are really worthless, myself included. These things don’t really recharge us efficiently, and they are not productive for the Kingdom. A final thought on this before we close. The bigger God is in your mind—the more powerful, in control, and providential—the more likely you are to believe that the little things you do matter, for good for evil. If God is small in our minds, which is not remotely a true representation of Him, then it’s easy to believe that He just has grand, sweeping plans but not little details throughout the whole thing. It’s like the difference between two novels. One is extremely well written with intense foreshadowing and little connections you only see looking back. The other is simple and somewhat predictable. If we think of God as the author of the second, then the little details of our lives don’t matter. On the other hand, if we think of Him as the author of the first novel, then we will look for His hand in all things and expect what we do to matter in the grand scheme of things. God is the master storyteller. He can and does weave every little thing together. Only when we look back at the end of the story will we see how every little thing worked together to make the tapestry of history. Believe that you matter. Believe that God is in control. Surrender yourself to Him in the big things and the little ones, and watch how He works through you. Thanks for joining me on the podcast today. At the beginning of this series, we identified five things that are facets of the Fruit of the Spirit but are not mentioned in Galatians 5. We’re going to dive into those next time, starting with hope. I hope you’ll join me then.