Hardly Spoken of and the Hardest Fruit of the Spirit to Practice

Self-control, to me, is the most frequently uncultivated fruit of the Spirit within the Body of Christ. The basic meaning of one having self-control is to be able to behave in a manner that is appropriate to the given situation. Spiritually speaking, when a believer is walking in the fruit of the spirit, he or she should display a manner of self-control. In the Greek, according to Strong’s, the word self- control means egkrateia or self-control, spirit †control, true mastery from within. Self -control can only be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we abide in Hime and His Words abide in us we can ask anything in His Name and He will do it! John 15:7 (KJV). It is obvious if the fruit of the spirit, such as self-control, has not been cultivated in a person’s life. For example, a person can continue to keep trying to get it right, when in fact, they just need to surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to give them power to overcome/ get it right! The fruit of God’s Spirit is produced in us when we remain in Him. Our job is to hold fast, and His part is to produce the fruit! It is in our nature to constantly indulge in every whim, we do not have the willpower to deny ourselves, on behalf of another person’s good. An example would be if we cannot control our tongue and display some restraint with what we want to say, this tarnishes our witness to all of the lost people of this world! In this age of self-expression and instantly fulfilled desires, an unselfish love will stand out like a beacon of light! Matthew 16:24, Then Jesus told His disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Amen

Self-Control is one of the Fruits of the Spirit that is uncultivated, I appreciate how informative the things you pointed out. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. You will have to have self-control to deny yourself and follow after him. We have to be able to control our tongues, what we say and how we do things. We are the only bible some people will ever read.

Hope this is really good and I appreciate your insight and discussion about self control. It is so true we must be led by the Holy Spirit in may ways especially self control. When the temptation arises to expose our emotions, offense, etc. we have an opportunity to walk in the Spirit or step outside of it. In Ezekiel 36:27 it tells us I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. When we allow the Spirit to lead and guide us we also walk in God's statues.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Hope. I agree this is a fruit of the spirit that may be uncultivated; it's definitely numberteo for me. I like how you pointed out a person may be doing things over and over and really just need to surrender to the Holy Spirit. It's hard sometimes, but when we realize God's plan is good for us it can be easier.