Peter gives agency to the desires of the flesh. They war against our souls. Temperance is an important tool in combatting the desires of the flesh. With temperance, we surround the city walls of the enemy, starving the desires of the sinful flesh so that they die. Without temperance, we feed the enemy, giving strength and energy to sinful desires. PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we recognize that our battle w...  Read More

For Solomon, the product of overindulgence is poverty. It may be drunkenness and gluttony that lead down this path, but any desire of the flesh may lead to the same destruction. Like strong drink clouds the mind and leaves the drunkard sluggish, unable to do the next day's work, any overindulgence will inevitably lead to distraction and lack of motivation to do what is truly valuable in life. Food...  Read More

In metallurgy, temperance refers to the hardness or elasticity of the metal. Does it break or give when it is under pressure? We often use the word temper to describe outbursts of anger–breaking points. A person who breaks, losing their temper, invites destruction upon themselves. The person who breaks, giving power to the passions of the flesh, also lacks temperance. Lust, gluttony, drunkenness, ...  Read More

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon repeatedly encourages us to enjoy the lives that God has given us. We are free to enjoy all that God has given us in life without guilt. But Paul warns us to do so in righteousness. He warns us not to let our freedom give an opportunity to sensual desires: gluttony, greed, pride, and all other vices. Rather, when we temper our passions, we are free to serve one another. As...  Read More

The illustration is odd for a modern audience. When might you need to capture a city in battle? You likely think you will never be faced with such choices. But that’s not true. You daily choose between power and patience. A small child bursts into tears because their sandwich was cut on the diagonal–or for any number of other seemingly insignificant reasons. As a parent, you can yell, spank the ch...  Read More

Temperance is a matter of life and death. Temperance is the quality of moderation or self-restraint. Moderation is avoiding extremes. As Jim Gaffigan says, ‘If you eat a whole pizza, people say, “Wow, you were hungry!” but if you eat a whole cake, people think, “You’ve got a problem.”’ Much of Gaffigan’s humor is based on gluttony. It’s funny–hilarious, really–because we all understand what it mea...  Read More

The farmer plants seeds in his field. Those seeds reap a harvest much greater than what was planted. So, the following season, the farmer plants a larger field and reaps a far greater harvest. In this way, God generously provides for the farmer. So, too, in generosity. When you sow generosity into the world, you will grow in your desire to be generous towards others–you will grow in godly virtue. ...  Read More

In the Parable of the Vine Workers, Jesus tells a story about a vineyard owner who needed to hire workers. He hired some early in the day, promising them a day's wage. As the day went on, he hired more workers, paying them a full day’s wage as well. Even near the end of the day, he hired more workers, maybe only for a few hours. He also paid them a full day’s wage. When it was time to pay the work...  Read More

God has set up the world so that goodness follows those who live good lives. Certainly, we have seen the way bad things follow people who make poor choices. In this way, good follows the generous, and bad follows the wicked. This is the general pattern of the world we live in. Will this always be true in every situation? No. But, generally and eventually, God will bless those who do good in the na...  Read More

The Psalmist contrasts the generous person with the person who borrows without repaying. These are, in a sense, opposites. The righteous person is generous, giving graciously when there is need. The wicked person isn’t just stingy with his own wealth and resources but actually borrows from others without returning what was given. This is an issue of the heart. The wicked person builds his own weal...  Read More

There is an integral relationship between community and generosity. People who give gifts are going to have many friends. Superficially, this may mean that people will be nice to you if they can get something from you–I don’t think that’s the point of this proverb. Rather, in community, generosity reflects an others-centric heart. The one who cares deeply for their brothers and sisters in Christ w...  Read More

In the New Testament context, we often speak of giving as liberal, according to conscience and means. We then assume that the Old Testament gifts to God’s work were strict and rigid–the 10% tithe, plus other commanded gifts. But, notice Moses’s words, “everyone whose heart is willing.” We should remember that God does not need our gifts, although he chooses to work through his people. As we are wi...  Read More