After I posted and reread my previous post on Works of the Flesh and Fruits of the Spirit; I thought maybe I could give examples of each of them; either from my own experience or from others I associated with in my life time. It is not to demean anyone if my report is on one of the works of the flesh - it is just that we are all human and all have incidences of 'works of the flesh' in our own lifetimes and it is seen by others. Jealousy is a form of Envy and don't we all know someone, or were ourselves, jealous of someone else and/or of what they had, that we didn't have?
Let's start with adultery? From the meaning, it say's someone who is married has sex with someone who is not their wife or husband: This happens in a lot of marriages and it shouldn't, but Jesus also said, if a person looks upon another with lust in his heart, wanting to have sex with, but not actually doing so, is also guilty of adultery and if single, of fornication. How many of you, old and young alike, find yourself guilty of this sin? We can be forgiven of this sin, if we never commit it after asking for forgiveness for it, or as many times as needed, for God is a loving God.
Fornication is having sex between two people who are not married to each other or anyone else. I see a lot of this happening today in our culture, especially in movies and in the many pregnancies of young girls who go for abortions - blaming the child within for her own or someone else's crime against her.
Uncleanness is someone who has touched a dead body, whether human or animal. In Biblical days, it took a ceremony of sorts to become clean after doing so. Today many of us are hunters, morticians, etc do touch dead bodies but they also clean up afterwards. Another meaning of uncleanness is what comes out of our mouth, speech, that also comes from our heart, is unclean if it hurts others or ourselves.
Lasciviousness is sexual behavior that is crude, rude, someone who forces their attentions toward another person. Nasty people who use sexual behavior to intimidate or scare others to get what they want.
Idolatry is reverencing any image, statue, or icon or anything that is made to be used to worship it - people who accumulate money for monies sake, hoard it, worship it, it is idolatry.
Witchcraft is practiced by wiccans, warlocks or people who believe they can do magic; mostly it is on the evil side of life and is to harm others; in days gone by, some women were herbalists and understood the use of weeds, flowers, etc and made concoctions to heal people of certain diseases or illness and were accused of being witches when in truth they were not and only did good. Accusers were usually priests, preachers, who were envious of their work and the taking away of the congregation who relied on the services to get well, instead of going to the priest or preacher for healing.
Hatred is such an intense feeling. It eats away at a person if not satisfied, and sometimes, it is never satisfied. Hatred can be toward a person, an institution, a community, an idea, a word, a feeling, a group of people as some people hate the Negro community or any negro; some people hated Indians as intensely, some people hate Muslims or the Koran, or Islam to such a degree that it is harmful to both the hater and the one hated. I personally hate evil in all forms, and I hate being hurt or in pain or sick. I also hate what is happening to the children by design as well as by accident.
Variance just means your actions don't go along with what you say you believe. You believe God and the Bible, but you don't follow the teachings of it. You believe in the law of the land, but you fail to follow it all the time. Speed limit is 50 but you go 60 because you can, your vehicle is made to go faster; or you go to church and act holier than thou while there but start using cuss words as soon as you are outside the building. Many of you don't realize that cuss words such as using God's name in vain or Jesus' name or Christ's name in vain used as a cuss word is not what a Christian should do, or using a four letter word/six letter word that means sexual intercourse in a vulgar connotation calling someone a name or using it as an expletive is not Christian either. Variance can be seen in many ways in today's Christian.
Emulation is someone who is antagonistic toward another over rivalry or it is striving for superiority. I felt this from my co-workers and even from my boss when I worked out in the public forum. I guess they felt that I was superior or acting superior, when in fact I just wanted to be left alone to do my job to the best of my ability. I work better alone and always have and trying to work along side people who gossiped about their co-workers, or complained about an individual and wanting me to agree with them about it, was not something I could do. I do believe looking back at my life now, I may have felt superior to those type of things because I was not one to gossip about others or complain unnecessarily about others.
Wrath is vindictive anger toward someone. I believe I was the victim of this also when I worked along side of people who seemed to be jealous for one reason or another, mistakenly I think. I had one co-worker who was very vindictive toward me and lied about things to get me in trouble. I argued that what I was accused of was not true, but I was still made the butt of the accusation and had to live with the consequences, until I quit that job.
Strife is also violent conflict. I thank God I was never in a physical fight. I always felt, if I ever had to fight, I would hurt someone terribly, and I couldn't abide that on my conscience. I would rather run away than stand and fight. Forgiveness is much easier when you don't have to defend yourself physically. Being kind even in the face of anger can dissolve many conflicts.
Sedition is nothing more than rebellion against established rules/regulations, in speech or actions. I can be accused of rebellion against rules that don't make sense to me. Not all rules/regulations are good for everyone, but because there are so many different types of people's with different ideas about the same subjects, it is harder than ever to come to a compromised condition of a regulation. No one is ever completely happy with all rules/regulations. In the big picture, sedition against our country, caused the Civil War; actually against the idea of slavery, using human beings as animals, to grow the products that were needed in the country without paying wages that cut into the profit of sales of that product. Our south could not have grown all that it did, if they had to pay wages to hired workers to do all that negro slaves did. Not all land owners were mean to their slaves, but some were and mistreated them daily. When uprisings began many were killed on both sides and a war to set them free was begun. Thank God we have equality 'where all men are created equal", even though we still have some who don't agree with all that has been done.
Heresy: Belief that is contrary to what has been established as truth. Such as the Bible teachings about Christ - some people do not believe in Jesus as the son of God and that he is God also. Some people do not believe in the Creation but believe in 'the big bang theory' that explosions or collisions made the earth, sun, moon and stars and all that is in and on it, instead of God being the Creator of all. The Bible says every word of it, is the inspired words of God, that God spoke the words, and many different authors wrote them down. Witnesses to Jesus Christ gave us the New Testament, science has also proven that what the Bible said is true in many instances. Archaeologists have dug up remnants of civilizations that were here on earth long before Jesus was born and the Bible speaks of them. It is heresy to disavow the Bible and the Biblical account of Creation.
Envyings, is something we have all probably been guilty of. Was there something you saw that another person had or was that made you wish you had it or was like him/her? A toy when a child, a friend when a teen, a wife/husband when an adult, a job or position when an adult. Did it make you feel resentful that they had it and not you? Did it hurt your feelings that the other person got the one thing that you were so looking forward to having? I think we are all guilty of being envious at one time or another, and maybe more than once in your lifetime. I can think of a few times I was guilty of it. I also remember how bad I felt when it got to be too much envy and I had to stop it from causing me any more pain; so I said it didn't matter any longer; it was for the best; God knows what I need; I am happy for that person. It always helps to forgive and let bygones be bygone. One thing I was envious about with a relative has now come to be mine after her demise, her daughter gave it to me. I said, God always knows whats best for me, and I think of her often when I look at the object of my envy. It reminds me how much I loved her.
Murders are not nice. Many shows we watch today have murder as there theme; many games children play have murder as the intention to win it, murder has become mundane to us. We read about it almost every day in the news someone has been murdered. It doesn't really faze us, unless it is someone we know who was murdered, or the person doing the murder was someone we know, or its children at school who are the victims. We say prayers for the victims and family of victims, we also say prayers for the ones committing the murder - we pray for justice for all of them. Our society has become a murderous society, because we have tried to stop the sales of guns when in fact we should teach our children all about guns. How to use them correctly, keep them out of the reach of small hands, learn about keeping them clean, learning to shoot only when needed to get food for the table, or to protect your home and family. No one should be taught to fire indiscriminately at anyone else and to always know exactly what you are shooting at. A gun is a weapon for protection and to gather food for the table by hunting animals that are considered food for consumption or to kill an animal that is harming a child or a pet. Coyotes and foxes are known to harm children and pets and chickens.
Drunkenness is a condition most of us have encountered one way or another, either by a friend, relative, or ourselves and sometimes a complete stranger. I had relatives who liked to drink a lot and got drunk many times. I often thought it was a way for them to not deal with reality at the time, a way to not think about life as they lived it. Some drank to forget, others drank to allow themselves to commit indecent acts and use their drunkenness as an excuse, some just liked to drink till they fell asleep. What it does to the mind and body is not worth it if it is done often.
Revellings are the same as orgies, partying, wildness, letting go of your inhibitions and doing things you normally wouldn't do if in a sober mind. Some college parties as portrayed in movies could be called a revelling. Sexual misconduct either done by a couple, or when one is attacked by another is all the same. Anyone who goes to these parties is looking to do something they wouldn't do if on a one to one meeting somewhere else, but a crowd/mob changes people so they will do something as others are doing it, whereas if all alone they wouldn't.
Now let's go to the Fruit of the Spirit, there's only a few of them but they encompass all life.
LOVE: Love is not lust.Love is the feeling of caring about someone, worrying about that person if they are well and doing good, or if they are sick and needing help. Love is wanting to be around a person who is kind and nice and joyful and helpful, One who never seems to get angry, one who knows no hatred of another person. Love is wanting to help others in need, doing good to and for other's more than for self, giving a life to save another, just as Jesus gave his life to save all the rest of us - that is love.
JOY: Ahh, joy is happiness, a feeling of goodness. You feel joy when you get what you want finally, joy is seeing a loved one after an absence of time of not seeing them, joy is seeing a great thing happen for yourself or other's. Someone wins the lottery, and you are full of joy for that person - don't let envy turn your joy into anger, that you didn't win it. Joy is watching a puppy or kitten playing, or joy is holding a baby for the first time, a feeling of wonder.
PEACE: Peace is knowing all is right with your world, there is no strife, no anger, everyone is happy, nothing can take your peace away, calmness, knowing God is in control and will work it all out for good.
LONGSUFFERING: Not letting anger enter when things are not going good or someone or something is irritating you and you yell and get mad is not longsuffering. I personally don't have longsuffering as everything seems to set me off; my cat meowing constantly to be fed, or he rubs up against my legs and almost trips me up (that also shows he is hungry and wanting to be fed.) Someone wanting something done right away and keeps after you, irritating you and you get mad at that person. These are examples of not having longsuffering, which I am familiar with: Longsuffering is not letting anything take your calmness away, not getting upset or angry or yelling or hitting when an irritation happens. Be happy during these interruptions and give joy to others.
GENTLENESS: Being gentle when things happen that could irritate or anger you. Having a gentle heart toward other's who may not be doing a good thing, but also not allowing the person to keep on doing it, without letting them know they are doing wrong. Being gentle to not hurt others feelings about something.
GOODNESS: What is goodness? Being good in all situations, not doing anything bad no matter what the situation is. A person tells a lie about you - do you retaliate? No, you don't be like that person. Goodness will always show up to others if there is no retaliation against a person who told the lie about you. Forgiveness of that person and being kind toward that person, may make that person think you are a weak person or maybe even a dumb person, but God and other Christians will know that you are a good person and the lie is just that, a lie. God knows the truth, and Satan is the liar who works his evil inside people who have not known God.
FAITH: Faith is always knowing God is love, and loves you, no matter what happens in your life - if you commit a sin, you are forgiven if you repent and don't repeat the sin again. Even if you do, keep on repenting because God will always love you and want you to love him so much that it will deter you from committing that sin again. Love of God will help you to be righteous in all your doings. Attitude is part of being a good Christian. Love conquers hate. If you can love someone who has hurt you and forgive them for what they did, your faith in God grows immensely. Having faith keeps you doing good to yourself and to others.
MEEKNESS: Inner humility and patience, attitude, restraining the inner self from doing bad things to self or others. Meekness is not weakness nor cowardliness. Meekness just means you don't allow anger to intrude on your goodness toward other's, even if they are the ones who have hurt you or your feelings.
TEMPERANCE: Being temperate means you have restraint, self restraint so that you do things in moderation. Instead of eating everything on the table, you only eat enough to satisfy that hunger, and then you stop eating. Being temperate means you always keep a tight rein on your feelings so that you don't do something foolish or mean.
I am sure people will have better explanations than what I have given here as I don't have a good vocabulary in my head to say what I really want to say in most situations. I have always struggled with words and meanings, all through life. School was hard, going to Ivy Tech was also hard for me because they asked questions I didn't know how to answer about personal ideologies. But I do know one or two examples of all the above Fruits of the Spirit.
I went shopping one day at the local Save store and on the way out I saw a lady I knew and stopped to talk to her. She was with another lady and they were going through her basket of food and taking things out and putting them back, while the cashier stood there patiently, so I asked what was going on. My friend said the lady didn't have enough money to pay for everything in her basket and they were trying to decide what was the least amount they could remove so that what money she had would pay for it all. I felt an urge and I pulled out my credit card and started to hand it to the cashier and I asked the cashier how much was owed and she gave me an amount that I knew I could cover so I handed her my card and \told her to pay for the rest of the basket of food. I felt a generous love to be able to help this lady and I was like on a cloud all that day. My sons heard about what I did through the 'grapevine' and many others also, but I said I just had to do it. I think I was meant to be there at that time, because I had decided to come to that store first, but I didn't until I had gone to the other stores and then I went to this store, to be there at that precise moment I was needed. It feels good to be needed. If we don't feel like we are needed we lose hope and become discouraged about life. God bless all those who take the time to be needed by someone else. There are many stories circulating on FB now about these kinds of situations and the people who help others.
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