The fruit of the spirit
OCTOBER 2, 2007 (TUESDAY) – Legacies of the middle ages are the lists of sins and virtues. In “olden days” people were fond of such lists. The Seven Deadly Sins were: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. The Seven Cardinal Virtues were their opposites: Chastity, Abstinence, Temperance, Diligence, Patience, Kindness and Humility.
Centuries before these lists were created, the Apostle Paul wrote of these spiritual contrasts in Galatians 5:16-26. According to the NIV Bible, he begins the discussion with a short proclamation: “live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
Then he tells us about the “acts of the sinful nature.” They are very ugly: “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like.”
The ugly list of sins is contrasted with the “fruit of the Spirit,” which is beautiful: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
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A translation of the Bible known as “The Message” presents verses 19-22 in this way: “It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom. But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”
The value of this unconventional translation is that it helps us to see that Paul is talking about the way we live each day, wherever we are, under real conditions. We will talk more about the “fruit of the Spirit” tomorrow.