What comes first?

I couldn’t help but continue reading Peter’s words that I started quoting in the previous post.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

Self-control would have been the answer to all my problems.  A little self-control could have doubled or tripled my income.  Self-control might have saved my marriage.  I have prayed so many times, “God, if self-control is a fruit of the spirit and your spirit lives inside of me, why won’t you grant me self-control.”

I can’t understand all the complexities that goes into how God does things.  But the past year God has put a process into my life to add to my faith and goodness a lot of knowledge.  It seems to me that self-control is next in line.

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

What a terrible thing to forget.

~ by Daniel Koster on September 25, 2008.