Self Control

There is a sense in which the self control listed in the fruit of the Spirit section of Galatians is like the last of the ten commandments listed in the book of Exodus.  (Galatians 5:23)   How is it that the "do not covet"  commandment and the last listed fruit of the Spirit are kin?  The answer is obvious.  If the tenth commandment is the guideline for life, then the first nine commandments will fall in place.  And, so it is with the last listed fruit of the Spirit.  If self control is growing in us, the other things listed as fruit of the Spirit will be present as well.

 

If it sounds like a tall and impossible order for the human will, it is.  If human will or human determination is the source of our self control, we will surely fail.  Self control is not attained from within the human spirit, but from the Spirit of God.  The ego or self within us cannot do this work.  Only the Holy Spirit dwelling in us can create in us this thing called self control which will, in turn, manifest itself through things like being loving instead of hateful, being patient instead of intolerable, being kind instead of being mean spirited, being generous instead of selfish, being faithful instead of unfaithful, and being gentle instead of overbearing. 

 

Without self control being produced in us through the work of the Holy Spirit, there can be no real self control.  Anything called self control that depends on the human will to create and maintain it is really nothing more than an illusion.  If we are to truly know what it means to live with self control, it will be because we have turned lose the control of life so that the Holy Spirit can control our inner being and do works within us which we cannot do for ourselves.