Spirituality Versus Personality

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” - I Corinthians 2:14

Have you ever wondered why some people who are not believers display the fruits of the Spirit in a greater and more consistent way than you do? Yet we know that such fruit can only be the product of a true believer. Makes you kind of wonder, doesn’t it? I like to refer to this enigma as spirituality versus personality. The fruits of the spirit are found in Galatians 5 and are listed as follows: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Does it not gall you to lose your temper with your children when the couple next door who have never once entertained a spiritual thought remain calm in the midst of spilled milk and sibling rivalry? What are we to make of this?

We must keep several things in mind. The unbeliever is perfectly capable of doing good things and behaving in a kind way. Also keep in mind that the believer is quite capable of displaying sinful behavior. In other words the flesh of the unsaved can perform good works, while the flesh of the believer can do what is wrong but the source is still from the flesh. For the unbeliever that just may be his temperament or personality.

The real key to understanding this seeming contradiction has to do with at least two things. The first is to examine the source of our behavior. I used to have a very volatile personality which usually was on display during athletic contests. I have broken golf clubs, pool cues, ping pong paddles, tennis rackets, and have even been known to throw fishing rods into the water if the fish weren’t biting. When I became a believer such behavior seemed to have evaporated. I have other issues that have not been uprooted as easily. One thing I know is that the change was not personality but the work of the Spirit in my life.

The second issue is motive. Why does the couple next door never raise their voice at their children? Is it motivated by a love for Christ? Is it a desire to be a good testimony or witness? The real motive might be that they want children who will turn out well and not embarrass them. They may want children who will learn self control and thus do well in school or athletics resulting in scholarships that will save the parents lots of money. We may never know the motive, but we do know that it is not empowered by the Spirit of God.

We see this in Christians who we know do not take their faith seriously yet seem to manifest the fruits of the Spirit. They may even look at you wondering why you can’t act more like them. You may wonder the same thing. Remember it may not be spirituality but personality. At least that’s the way I see things.