I once knew someone who had anger issues. Actually, it was more like impulse issues with a touch of self-control instability.
He would be angry at one person or about a situation and would liberally spray that anger over everyone around him. He would snap, find contention with everything, blow up over nothing, and brood with a darkness that you would feel from across the room.
As a friend, I tried to point out that his behavior was inappropriate.
That did not go over well.
I had gotten tired of being snapped at for no reason at all. I was weary of warding off argument attempts because he apparently just felt like fighting.
So, I did what every good friend would do in such a situation.
I confronted him.
I did not hit him with Bible verses, there were plenty of them to support my stance. I did not tell him he was a sinner or a “bad Christian.”
I simply said, “I didn’t do anything to you. Please don’t take your anger over this other thing out on me.”
I watched the storm clouds roll over his face and I braced myself. He must have seen me recoil because he took a deep breath and said, “A boiling pot doesn’t care who it burns. It will burn anyone who gets close enough. It has no discretion.”
To which I replied, “You’re not a pot. You’re a human who is supposed to have the Holy Ghost.”
You can imagine how that went. I’ll give you a hint – it was not good.
It was a while before we spoke again.
I am telling you this story because I believe a lot of people hold to this concept. They use it as an excuse to let their emotions run wild and untethered with no attempt to control them. They use it as an excuse to be unnecessarily cruel or unkind or even abusive to others who have done nothing to them – and people who have gone out of their way to be kind, supportive, and present for them.
They may not use the pot analogy, but those who have this problem (or know someone who does) can probably relate.
The Problem with the Boiling Pot Analogy
A pot is an inanimate object. It has no cognitive ability. If you put it on the burner, it will get hot. If you take if off the burner, it will get cool. It does not have the ability to heat up or cool down on its own.
It is incapable of making the choice to burn someone.
The pot does not have the Holy Spirit and is not capable of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
The pot cannot have or exhibit the fruits of the Spirit for this very reason.
Comparing yourself to a pot is inherently inaccurate and problematic because humans and pots are fundamentally different in nature, purpose, and complexity.
A human being typically has the cognitive ability to recognize inappropriate behavior and correct it. The exception would be a very young child or someone with severe intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The problem is, many human beings are not interested in submitting to the Holy Spirit who would help them right and regulate their behavior. It would give them fruits of the Spirit that reflect the nature of Yeshua.
Instead, they choose to surrender to the spirit that is leading them into anger, rage, and the things that make their fruit rotten.
That spirit is NOT of Yehovah.
We are to reflect Yeshua in all things because you never know who you are influencing. You never know who Yehovah is drawing and how He may be using YOU to help this person come to know Him.
You never know what someone else is going through and how YOUR behavior affects them.
People will remember how you treated them long after they’ve forgotten your words.
The Holy Spirit in You WILL be Challenged
Many believers seem to have this misconception that once they are filled with the Holy Spirit, the fruits of the Spirit will just naturally bubble out and never falter or be challenged.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
We are warned of an enemy, of satan and his destructive plans for you for a reason.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit (baptism of the Holy Spirit) is one thing. It will attract demonic oppression because hell doesn’t want you to take that next step – having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Being indwelt by the Holy Spirit is where the fruit grows, ripens, and is evident to others.
And that is where it is challenged regularly.
Why is that?
Because when you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, you are submitted to the Holy Spirit. There’s a huge difference between being filled with the Spirit and being indwelt by it.
And the indwelling is where the fruit is that serves as evidence of an ongoing submission to Yehovah.
Yes, tongues is the evidence of the initial baptism of the Holy Spirit.
But the fruits are evidence of a long-term, ongoing submission.
When you plant a tree, you won’t see fruit for some time, often years. You see the tree grow larger and taller. You see the leaves. But it takes time and growth for it to actually bear fruit.
So it is with people.
When a person receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, that is akin to planting the seed that will eventually become a tree.
Eventually.
It takes fertilization, water, sunshine, good soil, proper tending – all the things that keep the tree healthy and make it grow.
With people it means:
Fertilization – maintaining a consistent prayer life
Water – studying scripture
Sunshine – praise and worship
Good Soil – a humble, hungry heart that wants to grow in God
Proper Tending – community with a strong, anointed spiritual authority and a supportive, loving body of believers
It takes time for that growth to occur, and you better believe you will be challenged. In fact, the closer you get to Yehovah, the more opposition you will experience because you are becoming a great and treacherous threat to the prince of this world. Your ongoing growth makes you a dangerous opponent with the very real ability to cause his kingdom to come tumbling down.
So, What Exactly are the Fruits of the Spirit?
The fruits of the Spirit are found spelled out in Galatians.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
When you find yourself challenged and your fruit is shaky, it probably doesn’t help much to know that it’s because you are a threat to hell and that demonic agenda.
That won’t make you feel better, I get it.
But you do need to keep in mind that your actions have the power to affect others, sometimes in devastating ways. Your actions can harm people, lead believers into backsliding, and even cause new believers to turn away from God.
And yes, you are supposed to be an example for others; that was one of the last things Yeshua told His disciples before He was crucified. You have a responsibility to be a good example and show others His face.
So, what are these fruits of the Spirit and how do they manifest?
Love – agape – Divine love or Christ-like love. This is the love of souls and what drives us to share the gospel – so that they might be saved.
Joy – chara – Calm delight, exceeding joy that comes from the awareness of Yehovah’s grace and favor.
Peace – eiréné – Quietness or rest. Wholeness. Peace is Yehovah’s gift of wholeness and we rest in that.
Longsuffering – makrothumia – Patience or forbearance. It is the opposite of short-tempered and means waiting a sufficient time before expressing anger. It is about controlling the response to emotions.
Kindness – chréstotés – Goodness, a divine kindness, possessing an excellence in character or demeanor. It is a goodness produced by the Holy Spirit that avoids human cruelty and harshness.
Goodness – agathosune – Doing good or a generous person, beneficent. Virtue, having high moral standards. It means being inherently good, a goodness that comes from Yehovah. It is exhibited by spiritual, moral excellence.
Faithfulness – pistis – Belief, trust, confidence, and fidelity. A moral conviction of the truthfulness of Yehovah. Reliance upon Yeshua for provision and salvation. Faith is a gift from Yehovah and cannot be produced by humans. It is not the human powered act of belief, but the divine powered gift of reliance, trust, and confidence in Yehovah.
Gentleness – prautés – Mildness and humility, meekness. Power with reserve, contained, controlled. It originates in Yehovah’s inspiration and is wielded by His empowerment and direction. It’s true, holy form can only operate through faith.
Self-control – egkrateia – Temperance or controlling the self that can only be accomplished by the power of Yehovah. It is the mastering of self, of desires, passions, lusts of the flesh. It is a mastery of impulses, desires, and habits that enabled by the Holy Spirit. The intent is so that those things can serve believers rather than control or rule over them. It is complete submission to Yehovah.
These fruits of the Spirit require complete submission to Yehovah because you cannot achieve or sustain them on your own.
A “good” person is not a person who exhibits the goodness that is a fruit of the Spirit because that person’s goodness originates from within them. The goodness that is a fruit of the Spirit originates with Yehovah and is only achieved when the believer is fully submitted to Him.
So, prayers of repentance should not only consist of confessing your sin and asking for forgiveness. They should also include a renewed commitment to complete submission to Yehovah.
Put the Pot Back on the Shelf
If you connected with the boiling pot analogy, that’s a cue to make some changes.
Put the pot back on the shelf and deepen your walk with your Creator.
Tighten up your prayer life, study the Word, and spend time with people who love you enough to tell you the truth. On this walk you can’t afford to be thin-skinned or easily offended. Question what you don’t understand and ask for clarity when you aren’t certain. Don’t assume and don’t stew in silence like that awful boiling pot.
Pots are inanimate objects that will rust and wear and end up in the landfill. You are not a pot.
Stop acting like one.
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