Forever You

“Never do something permanently foolish just because you are temporarily upset.”                                                        

- John Spence

During my table group meeting last Tuesday evening with those in my demographic, and Pam’s and my Wednesday evening Table Group with the Young Marrieds, we asked the question, “During your lifetime, did you struggle more with epicureanism (pleasure is good, pain is bad) or with Stoicism (courage, justice, restraint and moderation)? Regardless of their age, the consensus, almost unanimously, was that stoicism was a bigger challenge than epicureanism.

The exceptions had mostly to do with their high school and college years, where wise decision-making and moderation were not always in vogue. As a result, all were grateful for the person(s) who brought them back under control and helped them to not make foolish decisions that could have negatively impacted their entire life. In that way, stoicism seemed a positive alternative to epicureanism.

However, we must be careful to not confuse stoicism with God’s definition of self-control. Sure, stoicism looks like self-control, but it is temporary and only used when it serves our purposes to avoid shame and embarrassment or advance our cause and get ahead in the world.

So, we asked our groups, “What is the downside of stoicism?” The first and most prominent answer was “pride.” It was a recognition that stoicism is about our own efforts, which can easily boost our ego for what we have accomplished, giving all glory to ourselves. But, there was another answer that we didn’t expect: Stoicism can cause us to not take healthy risks, for fear of shame or embarrassment if we fail.

God’s definition of self-control is not about restraint, but about freedom to be all that God designed us to be; both to glorify Him and to make a difference in the lives of others.

Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:5-7:

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.”    

As Pastor Jared has explained throughout this series, the Fruit of the Spirit is the manifestation of God’s Holy Spirit working in and through you to become who He designed you to your Forever You. God does not want us to be constrained, but to be made alive and free to love Him and love others.  Sure, we need self-control; not in the form of stoicism, but through the power of the Holy Spirit in us. It is what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote to Timothy, the young pastor, in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

May we be a people of God who practice self-control through the power of the Holy Spirit, that we might become now the “Forever You” God designed us to be, that God will be glorified and those around us be blessed.

Pastor Ken

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