The Fruit
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22:23)
Nearly all of us know these verses by heart and as believers in Christ seek to live and walk by the Spirit so we can have and share this fruit. In the Amplified Bible it shares that the fruit of the Spirit is "the work which His presence within accomplishes." Today, let's take a look at how each description of this fruit can intertwine with our finances.
Love - Jesus said in Matthew 22 that the most important command is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind". We can apply this deep love to work as to the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23), to give to the Lord in tithes and offerings first, in the giving of our time or money to others in need. We also love the Lord by regarding Him above our temptation to overspend. To see a deeper dive into this, go to the Archives section for the February 2019 post titled "Love the Lord".
Joy - the root word is tied to cheerfulness, calm delight and gladness. I would choose to take away from this how we can be content with our present circumstances and belongings. This will help us from having straying eyes and hearts towards trying to acquire expensive "things" that we talk ourselves into believing will bring us joy - especially those things which would require borrowing.
Peace - this can be tied in closely to what was just mentioned about contentment and relates to quietness and rest. When temptations come to move swiftly and without regard to your desired path financially, pull in the reins and take the time to seek God's peace on the matter. It is is written in Psalm 46 to "be still and know that I am God", this requires submission along with a move towards quietness.
Patience - this is connected to endurance and continuance. We live this out when we wait until God has provided us with the funds required to make a purchase rather than signing up for monthly payments or putting it on our card knowing we cannot pay it off soon. This applies to small, everyday impulses too - in saying no when we're aware that we are stretched this month and just as easily can do without that purchase.
Kindness - we can experience this by being merciful towards others financially, forgoing being demanding or acting stringent about every last cent towards them. And when we give to others in need with love and in the name of Jesus, that kindness communicates to that person beyond meeting a temporary need... that there is a God above who loves them.
Goodness - this sticks closely to kindness. One of the related words is beneficence, which means the quality or state of doing or producing good and/or being beneficent. For encouragement to yield in this area, recall the words of Paul in Acts 20:35 quoting Jesus having said "it is more blessed to give than to receive".
Faithfulness - I personally was invigorated when viewing the some of the words connected to the root word "emunah", like firmness, truly, and especially security... security in what? Security in knowing that when our steps may feel uncomfortable (think of tithing, giving to others or not giving into our flesh to spend), those steps are genuinely secure because He who called us to those steps is the one who is Faithful and True. The recently deceased pastor Charles Stanley frequently said to "obey God and leave all the consequences to Him".
Gentleness - some of the root meaning may surprise you here, including relating to excellence in character or demeanor and usefulness in addition to the fruits of goodness and kindness. The King James Version has the word as meekness, which is connected to humility. Jesus said in Matthew 11:29 that "I am meek, and humble of heart". I feel that humility is one of the key catalysts to paying off debts. If we are willing to humble ourselves, we will make some spending choices that may reduce our pride (not a bad thing), but the ongoing result of becoming free of debts one-by-one will be something substantial, growing and lasting.
Self-Control - in the King James the word temperance is used. Definitions include abstinence, restraint and moderation. You know what these words mean in relation to spending and finances, but I want to challenge you to an undertaking so you can uncover where you really need to apply self-control. That is done by tracking your spending, all of your spending and knowing precisely where and what it is being spent on. Take one month or two to track all of your spending - lay it out in front of you and then you can see where those dollars have gone versus your perception or guesses of where you think. This will enable you to identify where you can focus on restraint or moderation and then see the success from it.
God Bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,
Paul
