Governing the Self
You're not a lemming. You are a person in control of yourself (mostly).
Today is both the fourth day of the Christmas season and, since it’s Sunday, Christmas Sunday. Blessings on you as you continue to reflect on the incarnation in these days.
I’ve always felt this last fruit of the Spirit seemed quite different from the rest - almost like an afterthought, like maybe it was something my mother wrote in there when she got a chance.
But now that I’ve done this deep dive into each one for several weeks now, it totally fits with the rest. In fact, we have already seen self-control embedded in a couple of the fruits we’ve covered - in particular patience and gentleness, which imply that there’s something else we could choose to do, but do not.
Self-control really doesn’t need much explanation in and of itself. It is exactly control of the self. There is an agency here that is important to remember. Sometimes I hear Christians saying such things as, “I’m just a conduit of God’s grace,” or “I just do what God tells me.” I get this, but sometimes it comes with this notion that there’s no human agency, as if we’re spiritual lemmings or robots or something. But that would be outside of who God created us to be. God did not create us merely to be containers of his will. He created us to be relational and creative beings with selfhood and agency.
So the call to control the self is indeed to do God’s will (what God wants), but through choice and action.
Sometimes Christians go to great lengths to distance ourselves from other religions. There are good reasons for that. But like Paul on Mars Hill, I find there are significant places of overlap and resonance as well. Buddhism’s nirvana falls short of Christ’s eternal Kingdom, but the journey toward inner mastery is certainly Christlike, particularly when we seek to be led and shaped by the Holy Spirit (the whole point of these fruit of the Spirit).
This familiar passage from the sermon on the mount is well-known. Consider it today in the light of Paul’s call to self-control. At the same time, don’t forget the context in Galatians within which this list of fruits sits. They are, by design, in contrast to much else that Paul is saying.
Matthew 5:21-30
“You have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago, Don’t commit murder, and all who commit murder will be in danger of judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with their brother or sister will be in danger of judgment. If they say to their brother or sister, ‘You idiot,’ they will be in danger of being condemned by the governing council. And if they say, ‘You fool,’ they will be in danger of fiery hell. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and go. First make things right with your brother or sister and then come back and offer your gift. Be sure to make friends quickly with your opponents while you are with them on the way to court. Otherwise, they will haul you before the judge, the judge will turn you over to the officer of the court, and you will be thrown into prison. I say to you in all seriousness that you won’t get out of there until you’ve paid the very last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, Don’t commit adultery. But I say to you that every man who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart. And if your right eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out and throw it away. It’s better that you lose a part of your body than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to fall into sin, chop it off and throw it away. It’s better that you lose a part of your body than that your whole body go into hell.
Prayer
God,
Teach me to govern my own life with wisdom and grace, which is to accept responsibility. There’s so much blame and outward-casting these days. Help me to silently avoid it and do what is within my control. Form in me a self-agency not rooted in fear or pride, but shaped by your Spirit and ordered both from and toward love.
Help me to choose what leads to life and to restrain what harms.
By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.
Here’s the next song I recorded for this series.