There is an old saying that “Birds of a feather flock
together.” We tend to adopt the
attitudes and standards of those we associate with, and at the same time, we
tend to be drawn to those with similar attitudes. The more closely we associate and the longer
we associate with them the more in-grained those attitudes become. As we saw in the previous post, many of the
popular attitudes today place us in opposition to God.
When we get saved, God gives us a whole new outlook, as II
Corinthians 5:17-18 tells us. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God…” Galatians 5:22-23 describes the new
attitudes the Holy Spirit produces in us.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.”
Unfortunately, we have practiced the old attitudes and behaviors
until they become automatic, and we do them without thinking.
In order to change old habits, it necessary to deliberately
do the desired thing until it becomes automatic, and even then to make
conscious choices in order to keep from lapsing back into those old
habits. While the Holy Spirit gives us a
new attitude, we still have to practice maintaining it and acting accordingly
for it to become an integral part of our lives.
Peter addresses this need in II Peter 1:5-11. “And
beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue
knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to
patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness charity. For if these things be
in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and
cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall
never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Breaking old habits is hard.
While we were saved through faith, and we through Christ’s sacrifice,
our sin has been taken away, we need to develop a lifestyle of virtue or good
behavior. We need to spend time personally
with Christ, getting to know him and becoming increasingly like him as a result
of that association, as II Corinthians 3:18 promises. “But we
all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
As
we see Christ’s example more fully, we can practice temperance or self-control
more effectively, and the increased self-control makes patience easier. As our patience develops and we get less
upset by things around us, it becomes easier to maintain a godly attitude and
treat other people kindly. As we learn
to treat others kindly, and they respond positively, we can begin to develop a
genuine love for them, but practice will be required at each step for it to
become second nature to us.
Developing the fruit of the Spirit will give a deep sense of
peace and satisfaction and confidence toward god, and ultimately result in his
blessings and eternal rewards. The failure
to develop these traits will hinder our spiritual growth and indicates we do
not understand how sinful we were and why we needed a savior to take our place,
raising questions as to whether we are truly saved. In such a case, we need to go back and make
sure of our salvation so that we can experience the blessings he has promised
his children, both here on earth and in eternity.
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