Reap What You Sow
The last two weeks, my Sisters in Christ wrote about the fruit of the Spirit from different perspectives (check out God Doesn’t Have a Black Thumb and A Piece of Peace). You’re probably familiar with the most popular ones: love, joy, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and peace. The two others, self-control and forbearance, are similar in definition, but I feel they are often overlooked like a banana just starting to overripen (I had to throw a fruit reference in there, I mean, come on).
Thankfully, I grew up with great friends who never peer-pressured me into anything I didn’t want to do, so my self-control was never challenged. I am a self-proclaimed geek, and we would much rather spend our time and money on books, action figures, and video games than drugs or alcohol, thank you very much. I went to a Jesuit college and lived at home, so I was able to avoid any possible temptation when it came to partying it up there as well.
It wasn’t until I got my first “big girl” job that I was faced with tough decisions in that realm. I’m sure anyone who’s gone on a business trip of some sort has seen it as a little more exciting than being in the office. You’re given more freedom, and as long as you do what you came there to do, you’re pretty much good to spend any extra time the way you’d like.
But what do you do when you’re not used to that kind of freedom? Too much of anything can be bad for you, and if you don’t have the shiny fruits of self-control and forbearance in your cornucopia arsenal, things can go south fast.
On one of my earlier career trips, I made a dumb decision. I was young and immature. I wanted fellow tradeshow attendees to see me as “one of the guys.” I felt a need to prove myself as someone who could “hang.” I want to make it clear that not once did they encourage me to drink until my head was spinning. That was Satan reinforcing my insecurities, having been bullied growing up for being the nerdy girl who’d rather read than go somewhere I shouldn’t be on a Friday night earlier in life.
As I stared into the toilet for hours on end that fateful night, I said the words most people will say at least once in their lives: “I will never drink that much again.” I’m happy to say I’ve stood by that. I got off easy. There were much worse substances making their rounds that night, and the Lord protected me from doing something I would have no doubt regretted even more.
It only took one ridiculously bad hangover for me to realize God gave us free will – but that doesn’t mean we are free from the consequences of the actions that come of that free will. We will stumble and fall, and feel the effects of that fall. Not because God doesn’t love us or wants retribution for us thinking we can outsmart Him, but because the only way for us to learn is to make mistakes.
Jesus’ words to the sinful woman in John 8:7 are often famously quoted: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” But that’s not the whole story. John 8:10-11 goes on to say, “Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’”
We are forgiven, but not given a free pass in this life. We are expected to make mistakes but also learn from them. To repent of your sin means you acknowledge you did wrong, and have no intention of doing the same thing again. That’s not to say we don’t all slip up from time to time. But we shouldn’t make a habit of taking advantage of God’s grace and goodness.
