Over the course of one week in 2016, three headlines caught the author’s attention: Thirty Percent of Americans Obese, One-third of Americans Don’t Have One Dollar in Savings, and One in Four Americans Mentally Ill. These headlines were glaring indicators that something was (and still is) greatly broken in the American people. What has happened to this great, Christian nation?
God expects His children to daily bear fruit for His glory. Galatians lists these fruit for us: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, meekness, faithfulness, and self-control. Might it be that in the long-overlooked ninth fruit of the Spirit—the fruit of self-control— we might find biblical help for our appetites, our finances, and our mental health?