USING the FLOWCHART of FLESH and SPIRIT FRUITS

          The fruits of the spirit are attitudes (beliefs and habits) showing that the supernatural life or a moment of our loving God is flowing through you.  By contrast, fruits of the flesh are attitudes that reflect a naturally self-centered life or choice, pulling you away from God.  These are all measured by the free, anonymous, online Character Assessment Scale (CAS) on the website below, giving 6 pages of instant feedback to whatever email you give us.

Find yourself in the flesh-colored middle row of the flowchart.  These Core Issues show eight Basic Needs we all have.  Focus on one issue you feel good about, one where you feel you have plenty of that asset to give others without expecting anything in return.  Look both inside and around you for wellsprings – beliefs and habits that supernaturally cooperate to create what fills this need.  When God refreshes you with Fruits of the Spirit, you feel overflowing fulness, so that hthe more you give that asset away, the easier it is to keep on giving.

Now pick one issue where you struggle, where you feel you lack that need in your life.  Think of situations where you often feel drained of your life, feeling like you don’t have enough of that asset.  Look both within and around yourself for whirlpools – beliefs and habits that naturally compete to consume what feels like limited supplies of this resource.  When your life ebbs out with draining emptiness, natural Fruits of the Flesh suggest that the more you give or get what you want, the more it somehow leaks out, leaving you always needing more.

To know which of your People, Associations, and Dreams (PADs) are healthy for you, and which are sickening, look for wellsprings outside you, coming from relationships, groups, and causes that work the same way.  They seem to have plenty of this asset to share freely with you and others.  Somehow, they seem to be helping you to be a wellspring, and you seem to be helping them.  You come out of this relationship or group ready to share more of this asset with others.

And look for whirlpools around you, in the relationships, groups, and organizations you belong to:  which PADs seem to be draining that asset out of you and others?  Note who expects you to give them more and more of this asset as time passes, while somehow putting less and less back into you.  Where are the whirlpools that draw that asset out of you?  Your CAS feedback gives a link to a PAD evaluation tool to help you figure it out.  For each of the eight issues, it links you to one page each of Devotional Guides, Psychological Insights, and Parenting Tips.

From the Bible and common sense, people and groups are living the good life if they give and receive more freedom, strength, growth, wholeness, health, and life.  Whirlpools bring you and others more bondage, weakness, decay, division, illness, and death.  By these standards, genuine, healthy experiences of your eight Core Needs are described in the beliefs and habits printed in green above you, to show go – there’s fresh growth here. 

By contrast, toxic, sinful beliefs and habits are printed in red below you, to show stop – there’s dangerous inflammation here.  The fruits of the flesh listed here are the seven deadly sins, plus lying, all taught by Jesus and Paul 2000 years ago, and 1000 years earlier by Solomon, along with their corresponding lively mindsets and lifestyles.

 Now 40 years of solid scientific research has proven clearly that illness and wellness both grow and move just like the Bible and the flowchart teach:  Life and death flow invisibly, vertically, and horizontally, as the arrows indicate.  Within columns, everything green avoids or fights the red, and vice versa.  Everything in rows above and below is contagious:  growing anything green grows other greens, and all the reds fertilize the other reds.  To discern people walking in the spirit vs. the flesh, Jesus said “You will know them by their fruits.”   So starting afresh today, will you gain the discernment to start forsaking more red, and start seeking more green?

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a 501(c)3 nonprofit (mynewlife.com/the-well) publishing more free information, at   to-the-well.org.

This material can be copied and shared as is by its Creative Commons Copyright  2023  BY-NC-SA 4.0

The Character Assessment Scale (CAS) is a free, anonymous, online test (mynewlife.com/cas).

It gives percentile scores instantly for everything described in the chart, plus tools for personal growth,

and six pages of narrative insights and guidance, all under the same user-friendly copyright.