“And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” 1 Cor 9:25.
Temperance means self-control; the ability to master one’s own desires and passions, including faithfulness to one’s marriage vows; and purity.
Another way to put it is that temperance is bringing the totality of the human person (spirit, soul and body) under the direct and indirect control of the Holy Spirit.
Satan teaches the opposite: that a person’s spirit and soul should be subject to the whims and caprices of the body (flesh), thereby rendering the spirit weak, starved and in a comatose state.
In the verse we just read above; we understand by revelation that the fruit of temperance can only be manifested through spiritual training just as an athlete has to spend several hours to train himself on a daily basis before participating in a competition to win a prize; a believer has to engage in spiritual exercises in order to bring his spirit, soul and body under subjection to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the will of God. An athlete does not train in the competition arena; instead he trains elsewhere before coming to the competition arena.
It is the duty of every believer to gain self-control and mastery of his desires and passions through spiritual exercises such as persevering prayer, intercession, fasting and meditating/studying the word of God.
If you have been to a bakery before, you may have noticed that the oven is heated to a certain temperature that will allow the dough to rise and become fully baked without getting burnt or over-brown.
If this temperature is exceeded, the dough will get burnt or become over-brown and the bakery may sustain loss.
The fruit of temperance when manifested by a believer creates the right spiritual environment for the believer to bear spiritual fruits that will bring glory to God.
If the fruit of temperance is not manifested by a believer, it will cause the person to suffer spiritual loss, including unfaithfulness to one’s spouse.
I have also understood that ladies both married and unmarried easily fall into the sin of premarital and extra-marital sex, due to their inability to control their appetite for food.
If you are a believer, you must be very careful who you eat with, where you eat, and when you eat. That Good Samaritan that wants to buy you a meal or take you out in whatever guise may be a smiling devil after all is said and done.
So don’t deceive yourself, there is no free meal anywhere. It is even amazing that some of our young ladies have lost their virginity to total strangers because of a bottle of coke.
This is a testimony to the failure of today’s parents. Therefore, our parents need to sit up to their responsibility of bringing up their wards in the way and fear of the Lord.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Prov 22:6.
Children should be made to manifest the fruit of temperance as early as possible through being taught to pray earnestly, intercede for other people, fast and literally feed on the word of God on a daily basis. They should also be encouraged to memorize the word of God and put it into practice in their daily lives.
If you as a parent will do these, you will be surprised how easily your children will manifest the other fruits of the Holy Spirit, as well as other spiritual fruits.
But mind you, before you begin teaching your children, make sure that you yourself are manifesting the fruit of temperance; as children learn quickly from what they observe than what they hear.
Are you a believing wife or husband; but you still shout on your spouse, quarrel, fight, curse and even call each other names?
Repent now and ask the Lord for grace to undo the spiritual damage you have already done in the lives of your children.
Beloved, we have seen that the fruit of temperance is mentioned last in the list of fruits of the Holy Spirit; but I want to tell you that it does not carry last.
The fruit of temperance affects all the other fruits of the Holy Spirit, other spiritual fruits we are yet to look at in this book, as well as your health, marriage, business, children, career and everything else.
So now is the time to do a self-examination and confess and repent from all your failures and begin to manifest the fruits of the Holy Spirit and see your life turn around in every way imaginable.
“But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” Jas 1:22.
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