fruits: self-control

self-control. 

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22

"A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means.  This is an obvious lie.  Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is....  A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.  That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness.  They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in."  -C.S. Lewis

I'm a big fan of anything C.S. Lewis has ever said. And I like this one. 

Our desires can control every single aspect of our lives if we allow them to. If I asked you in what area you first think of needing self-control---I would be willing to bet you would say food. That's my first thought. Having self-control when it comes to our eating habits keeps us from making food an "idol," in a sense. On the other end, working out/dieting is an area that people struggle with. Self-control is so important when it comes to our body image, because if we aren't careful we will allow it to take over our thoughts... not leaving room for our relationship with God. What about television, the internet, books, magazines? What about blogs? What about Facebook? What about work? Self-control keeps us from bringing our job home and letting it interfere with our home life and our relationship with the Lord. 

The incredible gift of self-control keeps us from becoming so focused on something that it takes over our lives. I stumble daily, and spend too much time on Facebook or focus too much on making time for the gym. I check Twitter about 34 more times a day than I should. It's a constant battle to demonstrate self-control in so so many areas of my life. But I have been given the ability to do it. It's that just the coolest thing you've heard all day? 

Thank y'all for reading these posts and taking the time to leave such positive comments. This has been more for me than anything, but I hope it has reached someone. 

love always, 

kels