We’ve made it to the last fruit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. This may be the hardest one too! If we get the first one (love) and the last one (self-control) in order, the rest fall into place pretty naturally. Another word for self-control is temperance, and I think we all could agree that being in control of our “temper” is definitely part of temperance. Being temperate means saying no to any excess, in any realm….. from appetite, to physical urges, to passions and desires. To be temperate means to be “in power or in control, or to have power over one’s self.” When we are in adverse situations, Jesus admonishes us to maintain control and choose how we respond. That takes self-control! When we choose to bless instead of curse, that is self-control. When we choose broccoli over Snickers….that is self-control! When we are wronged and we choose to respond in love, that is self-control! Without self-control, we are like a city with a broken down wall. Proverbs 25:28 says exactly that. The cities of old were walled for protection. Self-control is like our wall of protection! It fortifies all that is within. Self-control is operating within the boundaries of victory. Any “out of control” area is an open invitation to the enemy. Let’s lock him out of our lives, by operating always “in power” over ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit within.