I bring this up because the study described another study in which people were found to high a strong ability to delay their gratification if they were placed in a room with a mirror.  Apparently, a mirror activates encourages people to self reflect to what is important to them.

1) Does it really have matter if some specified person’s quality is his natural trait or is fruit of the Holy Spirit? Does it really have matter to be led in doing something good by the spiritual trait or by natural one?
2) If so, how really to recognize if some of your traits, affections are inspired by Holy Spirit and not just your natural ones? How to recognize that your actions are inspired by Spirit and not by your natural?
3) How then this should be put in the practice, so we could please Lord and bring him glory?

I will try to show here some of my experiences which led me to asking these kind of questions. Once I began to read the Bible and joined the church I found that I’m really corrupted and evil person, and all my deeds and feelings are sinful, and I’m not able to anything good (Rom. 3:10-18, Rom. 14:23, Is. 64:6). I struggled hard but was not able to change myself in any point. My hope was just in receiving Holy Spirit from God, which he promised to those who ask (Luk. 11:13). After I was accepted by Christ in one day. (now I’m not really sure that it was that day, though I thought so for a long time) I felt relief. And my life significantly changed, especially in the points where I struggled. Thus I gave up smoking, lustful habits and sinful relations, I got enough boldness to make some decisions of faith, to join ministry wholeheartedly etc. That’s why it was natural to me to think that Christians and not Christians are really different and different at every point. So the person which has not been reborn is just sinful and has nothing really good in them (works, motives, traits). And who is really a new creation is led by Spirit, has qualities which are fruits of work of the Holy Spirit in him and his (persons) works are the visible results of it.

Surely b/c of our ministry emphasized I had some specific conceptions of how fruits of the Holy Spirit should look and which works they should produce. It is personal holiness, separating from evil (lust, gossips, drinks, smoking, games, dirty words etc.), willingness to sacrificial life, strong dedication to ministry, preaching the Gospel, obedience, learning mind, humility, unity with others, faithfulness, not being family-centered, living according all our rules.

In course of time these conceptions were challenged. First I have met people which looked like good spiritual Christians and they looks different from these attitude. Second I have met people which obviously were not Christians but kept very similar values. For example I have heard the speech of Hitler where he called his solders for “just trust and obey” attitude. I’ve read the story about Jehovah witnesses family who were ready to doom their own child to death in order to keep their rule of avoiding blood transfusion. I knew many communists who were very enthusiastic about their ideology and dedicated their life to it and seemed to be very united. Moreover when I tried to live according to such attitudes I honestly could hardly say that most of this (not tell everything) was produced by the Holy Spirit and glorified God and not my natural efforts enforced by some ideas, ambitions, manipulations, self-righteousness etc. So I began to see how spiritual and flesh people could act and be motivated very similar in those very things which I regarded as just spiritual.

Go next. In order to salve this confusion I thought that my criteria of spirituality and it’s signs was wrong. I began to think of importance of more basic and simple things and life as more essentially spiritual and God’s pleasing life. I mean loving neighbors, be compassionate, patient, forgiving, humble, truthful, faithful attitude toward work, family etc. I read in my friend blog the phrases like this: “being a good human is more important then being a good Christian, being a good Christian is more important then being a good preacher…”. And somehow these words seemed to be revealing my new attitude to life and spirituality.

However, new question has arisen here. If essential spirituality is really dealing with some basic human traits (Gal. 5:22, 23) how to define that my traits and behavior produced by and revealed them are spiritual and not just something natural? How to separate the same traits which mentioned Joe as spiritual fruits from those which mentioned Gerardo in non spiritual person? And really I know some people which are very good in some points which are close to mentioned, I respect them and want to learn from them, but they are definitely not Christians. And now I see some traits of my character which seems to be good and I want to develop them and to act according to them. But isn’t just something natural and really God pleasing?
That’s it for now. Sorry for being so verbose.

Two notes for the record:
1) Surely I believe that those who are in Christ are new creation and have spiritual nature.
2) I have no intentions to offend anyone and any practice here.

My point is that, the  dispositions  which we are born with can how easily we respond to the different ways God is calling us. So perhaps a grumpy man isnt willing to stop and listen to a bible teacher on campus but maybe he listens to a piece of sacred music that moves him beyound himself.

Christ gives us the gift of salvation freely and we are sometimes drawn towards Christ because we recognize our weakness. But this doesnt change the fact that we have particular weaknesses we have to overcome on a daily basis to experience conversion of heart and remain commited to Christ.

Indeed, Jesus accomplishes this work but it is not done without our consent. And despite our shortcomings (e.g., poor self control) we are called to respond to the Holy Spirit who wants us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling since God is the one doing the work. So while I agree that Jesus does the work, we need to respond to his call through fiat.  

So my greater point is simply that, perhaps there exist this inverse relationship between self control and religiosity because religiosity trains self control. Or, perhaps people with poor self control just have a greater cross to bear than those with higher self control. Surely we would all agree that a Pakistani convert has a stronger disposition and situational contraints than say an american convert. I guess I am just speculating whether poor self control is one of those constraints. I hope this makes sense.