Guest Post: Melissa Brotherton :: Fruit of Self Control

I invited guests to reflect on the fruit of being planted in Christ. I pray you are ministered by their journey and ponderings of faith.

Melissa Brotherton
www.melissabrotherton.com

A natural storyteller and writer, Melissa is someone I greatly admire. Her understanding of the Word coupled with the willingness to be transperant have allowed me to see God work in different ways. She's a mama to four children under the age of five and she's been married to her high school sweetheart for ten years. I'm blessed to call her friend and I look forward to see God flourish her ministry.

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FRUIT OF SELF CONTROL

Staring at the now empty pint of ice cream in amazement, I can’t believe that I ate as much as I did. My aching stomach testifies to the fact, although that heavy feeling deep inside of me is more than just chocolate and cream.

Opening the credit card bill, my heart skips a beat as I look at the balance. How could a few trips here and a stop in there have added up to so much? The payment we’d just made to allow us to bring our balance to zero had been swallowed up in treats and entertainment.

“I’m only going to check my email.” Over an hour later I reluctantly step away from the laptop, the children’s pleas for attention and assistance have become too persistent to ignore further. As my husband walks in the door to a still messy living room and a yet-to-be-started dinner, a wave of guilt washes over me.

Self-control: the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions.

The ability to show restraint is not easy to master. If there’s a snack in my cupboard, credit to be spent or something fun to do; I have trouble saying “no” to myself.

Gluttony, greed, sloth: all ugly names for things that people let slide every day. We all say we should eat better, spend less, exercise more, etc. Usually it’s around this time of year that people are beginning to fudge on their New Year’s Resolutions, many of which revolve around these very issues.

Like quicksand, we struggle to pull ourselves up out of our habits, only to be sucked further down till it almost overwhelms us.

Take a look at Galatians 5:22-23:

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Self-control is not determining to keep from messing up again. It’s not being strong enough to abstain from addiction; controlling oneself.

Self-control is a work of the Holy Spirit in your life to control the self-will that sinfully resides within each of us.

Only through obedience to the Spirit did I determine to sell my phone so that I’m less distracted around my kids. Through promptings of the Spirit, my husband and I have committed to a 21-day fast from media in the evenings, so we can focus on what God’s doing in our life.

To curb our appetites, fight our addictions and learn self-control, we need to be Spirit-controlled.

PLANTED is a 4-week Bible Study. This is Week 3: Pruning Branches. View an overview of weekly lessons. // Begin week 1, Sowing Seeds // Begin week 2, Firmly Rooted // Subscribe now to receive posts via email or rss feeder.