Generosity as Spiritual Gift: Part 2 - Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Galatians 5:22-23 (NRSVUE)

I am grateful for vaccines, quiet walking trails and the technology to borrow ebooks from the library without leaving home.

In Part 1 of this post, I mentioned that patience was a particular stumbling block for me. Since then, I got Covid. I’ve benefited greatly from the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and generosity of other people.

Faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are the fruits for today’s post.

Faithfulness

Faithful people who follow Jesus through all kinds of weather remind me of smooth stones. They live in response to God’s faithfulness and it shows. They develop a softness and a shine. They rely on God’s faithfulness, and learn trust. They trust, and learn the joy of generosity. Faithfulness is the best kind of positive feedback loop!

Gentleness

A primary-aged child from our church recently shared that “gentleness helps people grow.” Wow! Treating other people gently, as God’s beloved children, helps them become the people God made them to be. Treating ourselves gently, as God’s beloved children, helps us become the people God made us to be.

Self-Control

Another child from our church shared that “self-control feels good.” I’d never thought of it that way before. When we can be in control of ourselves, we can make good choices. We can choose to be kind, to be gentle and to live faithfully. Self-control enables generosity too, faithful and regular giving borne from good habits.

Thankfully, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are fruit of the Spirit. They are gifts we receive from our faithful God, and which we can learn about from the testimony of other faithful followers. Thanks be to God!