Paul tells us in Galatians 5:16-17, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants.”

And he says in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control.”

It would be reasonable then to believe that the opposite of these characteristics “fruit” would go something like this: “The fruit of our sinful nature is hate, gloom, stress, worry, fear, impatience, meanness, dishonesty, harshness, and lack of self-control.”

So when we see characteristics from this second list in ourselves or others, it is not from God.

Dear Lord, Help us model our lives on the example Jesus gave us. The perfect example of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.