Communicating at Work with the Fruit of the SpiritSample

Self-Control

Do you have times at work where exercising self-control is the last thing that you want to do? Are there circumstances or people that drive you so crazy so that responding with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are a real struggle?

It seems counterintuitive, but when we don’t exercise self-control, we are once again burdening ourselves with the yoke of slavery to sin.

We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good! We have experienced the joy of the Lord! Therefore, we know that we can trust God with the situation or person that is tempting us to give up our self-control. 

When you exercise self-control, your life demonstrates to a watching world God's holiness.

God knows our weaknesses and how hard it is at times to exercise self-control. Therefore, God has given us the Holy Spirit. Paul assures us that when we walk by the Spirit, we will be able to exercise self-control and not succumb to the desires of the flesh. 

When you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, choose to exercise self-control, God sets you free to love the people you work with even when they drive you crazy. 

Today, if you see an email or a text come in and you think it might get under your skin, take a moment before reading the message to ask the Holy Spirit to bless you with self-control. Take a moment before each meeting to ask Jesus to fill you with his love for the people you are about to speak with, so that you can continue to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in your interactions with your coworkers.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for setting me free from the slavery of sin. Forgive me for the times when I have lost my self-control. Fill me with your Spirit so that I might bear your fruit and respond with self-control in each email, meeting, and conversation that I have today. Amen.