The Increasing Measure of Self-Control

Self-control, the last fruit named in the list of the fruit of the Spirit, increases in measure that is always in direct proportion to the revelation of God’s love. If I possess an anemic viewpoint of God’s love for me, then I will also maintain an anemic self-control. If I perceive God’s kindness as shallow, my self-control will also be shallow. If my belief in the Father is that He is intermittently faithful, then my self-control will also be intermittently faithful. If I make the Christian life about self-improvement, self-control, or self-righteousness, I will have fallen from grace into a works-based relationship, and like the Pharisees and teachers of the law, I will fail most miserably.