The Fallacy of Self-Improvement (Part III)

2 Comments / Character, Fruit of the Spirit / By

Self-efort may help to develop some of the gifts and talents that God has blessed us with, but it can’t develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Only the Lord and His process can produce the fruit of the Spirit!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Our self-effort can bring about natural success and even ministry success, but it will not produce Christ-likeness in our lives. While we need to do our part in growing in God, some of us take it to a whole another level and live as if our growth depends entirely on us.

There are those who are on the self-improvement cycle, and a causal observer can deem them impressive.  However, some of these individuals, who appear very mature and knowledgeable, under pressure their character caves in. Some become a bully and intimidating.  Some may gossip about others because they are not getting their way. Others seem calm and collected until someone challenges them and steps on their toes. Then they become aggressive and go for the jugular. Others are intent on competing, deceiving, exaggerating, or lying about their accomplishments to ensure they remain impressive. It is hard to develop the fruit of the Spirit and, at the same time,  walk in carnality!

If you are a driven person, most likely, you are ready to improve anything that is suggested to you. However, not every improvement is from God, and neither should we assume that self-improvement is the solution. Also, we should consider the fact that sometimes our drive to self-improve is because we want to remain in control of the extent and the speed of our growth.

How do we grow without getting into the trap of self-improvement!?

  1. Use your quiet time to get to know Jesus and what He desires in your life. Don’t seek out the scriptures for head knowledge or to be impressive with your depth.
  2. Avoid copying others. Copying someone else is about self-improvement. We all should learn from each other, but we can’t copy others. We are not a product to be duplicated.  A person’s character has to develop over time and through God’s dealings. Choose to wait on the Lord and let Him develop the fruit of the Spirit in you.
  3. Remind yourself that each person’s path is different, and it is not wise to compare yourself to others. Furthermore, you don’t know if others are truly developing in character or if they are also on the self-improvement track. The Comparison makes one believe the lie that they are falling behind or are getting too old. God used many of the Biblical characters well into their 80s.
  4. Refrain from boasting and sharing about what you do in ministry.  Let it remain between you and the Lord. This will help you not to be tempted by man’s applause and to be compelled to gain their applause.
  5. Your title or position should not be your badge of importance. Don’t allow your title or position to change your identity as a much-loved child. If being a child of God does not give you enough importance, you will fall into the trap of self-improvement to maintain your position or worthiness.
  6. Have conversations with God that give Him room to speak. Choose to be quiet and allow God to speak to you. Refrain from doing all the talking.
  7. Learn to say “no” or “yes” as the Lord leads not what seems important or popular to those around you.
  8. Refrain from reading all the posts on social media about those who toot their own horn. That will just drive you to do more and become impressive.

We are all going to be tempted to improve ourselves. However,  when we become aware of it, then we can stop going down that path. Instead, we can pray and surrender ourselves to the Lord, so that He can develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit will develop over time and over various seasons. God has the timetable, and our job is to cooperate with the process and let Him make us ripe and sweet!

 

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/fruits-spirit-season-galatians-1388848/

The Truth about Agreement (Part I)

Leave a Comment / Agree, Consent / By

In our culture, we have a dichotomy between being very opinionated and desiring to agree with others. Thanks to social media, this platform has opened the floodgates of man’s opinion where people can feel the freedom to espouse their opinions and find their like-minded followers. However, the Lord has much to say about coming into agreement with others that is important to all of us. …

The Truth about Agreement (Part I)Read More »

The Blessing and the Challenge of Favor (Part III)

Leave a Comment / Favor, Merciful, Obedience / By

While God’s gifts are irrevocable, His favor is revocable as we see in the story of Joshua and his people entering the Promised Land.

But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel.

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.” So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water. Joshua 7:1-5

The Jewish people had a history of discontentment and disobedience while they were in the desert for forty years. However, once the older generation died and Joshua took over the leadership of God’s people, God led them to take over the Promised Land.

The Lord gave Joshua the strategy of walking around Jericho for seven days and blowing their trumpets; at the end of this time, the walls fell without the Jewish people needing to tear down the walls.  The Lord gave them favor, and they didn’t have to fight for their success. However, this did not last as they chose to disobey the Lord.

Some of the people decided that having God’s amazing favor was not enough, so they decided to gather unlawful items for themselves. They stole some accursed items and included them with their own possessions.  God’s anger rose against them, and this time He decided that they were not going to have success when they went to attack Ai. They ended up being chased back and their hearts began to melt.

God’s favor is a great blessing, and it is not something that we should play around with or take for granted. The Israelites became overconfident by their success at Jericho, and they assumed that God’s favor will continue to be with them regardless of their behavior or disobedience.

We also need to humbly be thankful for God’s favor and not assume that His favor is irrevocable. Praise God that He is merciful, but this does not mean that He will continue to endorse things that He is not pleased with.

The Jewish people had forgotten that they were part and parcel of God’s plan in fulfilling what He had promised to Abraham centuries prior. They failed to understand that God’s favor had a purpose in their lives and that He wants to accomplish something on the earth through His people.

Similarly, God’s favor upon our lives is not just for us. Instead of taking it for granted or assuming it will always be there. We need to continue to walk with Him and stay in close relationship with Him. We also need to be mindful of His favor to further His kingdom on the earth and not just use it for a personal advantage.