My daughter and I were talking recently about her new computer program. She enjoys a non-competitive electronic tidying game. She finds satisfaction in solving the puzzles to organize drawers, shelves, and—in one instance—a tacklebox. As we talked about the game, she said, “I don’t know why I like the game so much, when I don’t like doing that kind of organization in my room. The idea of doing it in real life makes me tired.”
In the game, I explained, the solutions are already provided for her; she just has to find them. She knows she hasn’t been tasked with solving an impossible problem, and there are hints along the way if she needs them. Cleaning her room, on the other hand, involves a lotNephew of Abraham and Sarah. More of decisions without hints. She has to make each choice and then figure out for herself if it will work. Are more bins needed? What can be thrown away or donated? Is this something to keep handy all year, or is it seasonal?
Playing a game is always easier because the stakes are lower and the problems are solvable. If you get tired or frustrated, you can walk away. The messiness of the places where we live, the relationships we have, the daily social interactions that occur, or even the realities of a life of faith are not games. Each of these things requires real attention, decision-making, reflection, and flexibility.
When PaulThe Apostle Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus, was the author of several New Testament letters and the founder of many Christian communities. More writes his letter to the Galatians, he is well aware of how complicated their lives have become. The apostleDerived from a Greek word meaning "one who is sent," an apostle is a person who embraces and advocates another person's idea or beliefs. At the beginning of his ministry Jesus called twelve apostles to follow and serve him. Paul became an apostle of Jesus... More spent time with them, and the power of the Spirit moved and formed a community of believers in Christ. When Paul and his companions moved on, other teachers came in and contradicted some of what he taught about a Jesus-shaped life. Someone writes to Paul and tells him that the Galatians are struggling with the disparity in what they’ve learned. Paul is livid.
He writes, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the graceGrace is the unmerited gift of God's love and acceptance. In Martin Luther's favorite expression from the Apostle Paul, we are saved by grace through faith, which means that God showers grace upon us even though we do not deserve it. More of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6–7). When Paul was with them, the Galatians were experiencing something almost like the game version my daughter loves. They had their teacher nearby, and answers to their questions were close at hand.
Once Paul moved on to the “real-life version,” so to speak, the decisions they needed to make and the distractions they faced felt overwhelming and almost insurmountable. The false teachers who are “bewitching” the Galatians appear to have been instructing the new followers of Christ in laws that were specific to Jewish disciples but weren’t necessary for the Gentiles who were baptized into the community of the Way (Galatians 3).
Paul’s letter can feel vitriolic, but he’s angry with the misleading teachers and frustrated for the Galatians. He grants further instruction about the law and God’s welcome of all. He creates a beautiful metaphor of adoption and then follows it with an unfortunate allegory about SarahAbraham's wife and mother of Isaac. More and HagarSarah's maidservant, Abraham's concubine, Ishamel's mother. More, the wives of AbrahamGod promised that Abraham would become the father of a great nation, receive a land, and bring blessing to all nations. More. (Nobody’s perfect, except JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. More.)
In Galatians 5:19-20, Paul gives a list of “works of the flesh.” These are the behaviors that happen when believers are not attentive to the Spirit—the things that occur by embracing the ways of the world. This list includes in-group fighting, substance abuse, jealousy, and pettiness, as well as a failure to honor one’s own body and the bodies of others as gifts. A list of what not to do is only helpful if it comes with a companion inventory of what to do.
On this front, Paul delivers a beautiful catalog: “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things” (Galatians 5:22–23). These “fruits” are the harvest of an active Spirit in the life of each follower of Christ and within the whole of the community of the Way. All nine grow together and are needed to shape each other. The openness of generosity requires the discipline of self-control and the desire for peace. The brightness of joy is a fellow traveler with healing kindness and determined faithfulness.
Ironically, it is rarely the list of “do-nots” that keeps the fruit of the Spirit from blossoming. Most often, it is the social constructs and pressures of “niceness” and a resistance to change that become the weeds choking the fruit salad plans of the Spirit.
It is messy work that is needed for the world to be shaped by God’s will, which has already shaped heaven. For God’s will to be done, as we so often pray, we must take action to dismantle systemic oppression and harmful social and personal patterns. As the hands and feet of Christ on earth, we must speak up and speak out in word and deed.
Those who benefit from the way things are often try to shut down change. The critique comes regarding tone (protestors are too loud or rude), presentation (the presenter doesn’t have the right look or clothes), or timing (we need to solve this other problem first). The pressures of social norms try to keep the fruits of the Spirit in the “gaming version”—fitting neatly into puzzles, songs, and onto t-shirts. Pressed into palatable pablum, the fruits of the Spirit become nothing more than a nursery rhyme that is cute but feels irrelevant to daily life.
This is exactly what made Paul scribble, “See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand!” (Galatians 6:11). I imagine him writing quickly and furiously, wanting to convey that life in the Spirit is more than a tidy game. It requires discipline and devotion, dedication and discernment. The real life of following the Way of Christ involves daily decisions that can be complex and must take into consideration the neighbors and circumstances in front of you. It is not a game. Yet openness and commitment to that Way reveals what the world desperately needs—the fruits of the Spirit as fiber, nourishment, and sweetness that show forth the will of God.
