MODERATION

Moderation is good at times, but we need to have the wisdom to know when to be moderate and when to be radical.

We don't want to be moderate when as William Lloyd Garrison puts it:

Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation.

Jesus used radical language during His teaching ministry:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24). 

If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison--your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple ( Luke 14:26).

Now we ask, when is the right time to be moderate? Moderation has always be known as a virtue. The Free Dictionary defines moderation as: "being within reasonable limits; not excessive or extreme." 


Joseph hall tells us that, "Moderation is the silken thread running through the pearl chain of all virtues."

 Now, I don't think Mark Twain quite had it right when he said, "As an example to others, and not that I care for moderation myself, it has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep, and never to refrain from smoking when awake.

I like how Brandon Sanderson views moderation when he says:

“Once one becomes a man, he can and must make his own decisions. But I do offer warning. Even a good thing can become destructive if taken to excess.”

The Apostle Paul tells the church at Philippi, "that they should let their moderation be known to all men" (Philippians 4:5).

So, we will end with a witty and direct quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Moderation in all things, especially moderation.” 

Father, give us the wisdom when to be moderate and when to be radical. We ask that You would help us to allow the Holy Spirit to bring forth the fruit of moderation and temperance into our lives. We humbly ask Father, that you would help us to view this world and all that it offers as temporary and transient. We ask that You would help us to be radical enough to die to ourselves and pick up our cross daily---for Your glory and honor, AMEN