\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I am a very task-oriented person. I am all about the to-do lists. It gives me joy when I check something off. It stresses me out when I get to the end of the day, and there\u2019s still twelve more things on my list.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Because of this, I have historically tended to turn almost every facet of my life into a mental to-do list. Everything feels like a competition or a performance to me. I will emerge either as a winner or a loser.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Most of life really isn\u2019t supposed to be that way, though. I am learning that it\u2019s actually OK to simply live life as it comes and appreciate moments as they\u2019re happening. I am learning that it\u2019s more important to start each day with gratitude than finish it with a gold medal.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n So why is it that we keep wanting to go back to the things that we know didn\u2019t work before? Are we just futility addicts? Or is this just part of the natural state of being human?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The problem lies in our tendency to define ourselves by what we do or fail to do. If I win, then I am a winner, but if I lose, then I am a loser. Nobody wants to be a loser though, so we do everything we can to win at life. And if we find we can not win, then we start doing things that are truly ridiculous.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Some people try to downplay life\u2019s natural\u00a0consequences by attempting to eliminate the concept of winning and losing, a concept that I call the \u201cparticipation trophy\u201d mentality. You\u2019re a winner just for showing up! And if you didn\u2019t even show up, we\u2019ll try to find an excuse for you, so that you won\u2019t lose. After all, you deserve to win!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Then there are the \u201cglory days\u201d people (I tend to fall into this category). These are the people who used to be the best at something. But then they went somewhere else where there were other people that were better. Or maybe they just got old and weren\u2019t as good as they used to be. If a person like this is focused on winning, and he isn\u2019t winning anymore, bitterness takes over in a hurry.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A person in this kind of a rut can\u2019t let go of the past, can\u2019t be happy for anyone else who wins in the present, and is bleak about the future that he sees for himself filled with nothing but losing. Because if you lose, then you\u2019re a loser. But you can\u2019t be a loser because you used to win. But now other people are winning and keeping you from the victory that is rightfully yours. So, if you can\u2019t beat them, then you have to tear them down, so that you can be on top again.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Both of these misguided worldviews lead to the same error\u2014trying to put everybody\u00a0else<\/em> on earth at the same level so that we can feel good about ourselves, either by having no distinction of greatness, or by declaring ourselves great by attrition. Both philosophies fail, because they both stand on the foundation of defining our worth by what we do, rather than who we are.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the Bible, Paul calls it \u201cliving by the Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 This is a churchy way of saying \u201cgetting out of your own way and letting God do His work through you.\u201d\u00a0 Living by the Spirit isn\u2019t about checking things off a religious checklist. It is more about being aware of God\u2019s influence in our lives and allowing ourselves to be led away from our own plans and deeper into His.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Notice in the verse at the beginning that it is the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit in our lives, not us. We don\u2019t overcome the world by accomplishing all nine of those things on our own. Rather, when we yield to God\u2019s leading in our lives, these fruits are the natural result of the change that He works within us.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original. <\/em><\/strong>Galatians 5:25-26 (<\/strong>MSG<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Christian walk is not concerned with how good we feel about ourselves for being Christians. While we don\u2019t need to do things for God to get His attention, we do still have a part to play. Even a simple game of follow the leader requires effort.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Grace is the free gift of God, but it did not come cheaply. If we had no role to play in working out our own salvation, then what would be the point of\u00a0getting saved<\/a>\u00a0in the first place?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The work that God does within us by the power of the Holy Spirit ought to be evident externally. We have been changed from within so that we may bring change to the world without. So, what does that look like?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n We began this post by listing the nine \u201cfruits\u201d of the Holy Spirit, which is to say, the characteristics that are produced by Him in us, which are the evidence of His existence in our lives. Let\u00b4s zoom in on these.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The goal here is not to get these things done. It\u2019s to keep in step with the Holy Spirit by letting His influence in our lives rule our conduct. If our goal is to live lives of strong moral character and integrity, then the characteristics in the list above will shine through naturally, sometimes without our even being aware of them.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Other people will notice, however, just as they notice when we claim to be filled with the Spirit\u00a0but fail to display these characteristics.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Again, the characteristics are not the goal.\u00a0 The\u00a0character<\/em>\u00a0is.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n (We will expound upon this next week in Part 3<\/a>. Make sure you click on the Free Newsletter link<\/a> so that you will be the first to know when it is available!)<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5016,"featured_media":1457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[206,380],"tags":[704,713,710,701,719,707],"class_list":["post-1433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-on-mission","category-spiritual-growth","tag-a-better-way-to-live","tag-galatians-5","tag-keep-in-step-with-the-spirit","tag-never-give-up","tag-peace","tag-walking-in-the-spirit"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/h3>\n
\u201cWinners\u201d and \u201cLosers\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
God gave us a better way to live.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"2](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1779\/2023\/11\/Keeping-in-step.jpg\")
<\/a>Keeping In Step with the Spirit<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
More spiritual fruit, less religious nuts. . .<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
I can not stress enough that this is not intended to be a to-do list for you to check off.<\/h3>\n