How many times have you done something bad? Said something bad? Thought something bad? How do those numbers stack up against how frequently you’ve done/said/thought something good?
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:19-26, ESV
We would probably all like to think that our good outnumbers our bad by a lot. Or maybe some of us ignore the stats, focusing instead on the fact that we are saved by grace alone and not by our good works. We’re not trying to get enough “good points” to please God or to earn our status as Christians, but we can’t ignore our calling to reject the works of the flesh and strive toward the fruit of the Spirit. Just as Paul encouraged the Galatians to do, we who live by the Spirit should keep in step with the Spirit.
VC Devotionals 