Balancing Act

I spent Sunday watching NFL football. For all you non-sports fans, I apologize. But for all of us who truly enjoy the sport, it was a magical day. As a boy I grew up rooting for and watching the Philadelphia Eagles play. Now, through the magic of the Dish Network, I am able to watch them again. It takes me back to simpler days and gives me a chance to daydream nostalgically about my childhood days.
I like to do that, don’t you? To remember fondly the days of my youth and what I did or did not do. Reminiscing about days gone by. But, like the old saying goes, “too much of a good thing can be a bad thing”. One of the great principles from the Bible is that we are to live lives of moderation. Now, some would say that the Word teaches we should live lives of sacrifice. While I certainly believe that sacrifice is both necessary and needed in life, I am not sure that this is how we are supposed to live. Much of the sacrifice we are called to make is to ensure that we are living lives of moderation. One of the definitions of sin that applies too much of what is taught in the Word is that sin is taking something that is either good or OK and making it overly important in your life. Let me give you a few examples:
1. Sex – God created sex. It is something that comes from Him to us. He has deemed it to be pleasurable. We are created to enjoy it. However, God realizes the powerful nature of the sexual urge and tells us to live moderately. The moderation of sex is not in its frequency but in it’s context. The moderation God calls on is moderation of when you should begin and with whom you should engage in sexual activity. There is no prohibition I know of in scripture against the frequency of sexual activity (I believe there are some prescriptions in the Law about refraining from sexual activity during a woman’s menstrual period, but that is for the comfort of the woman during a period of time when it can become painful or awkward).
2. Celebration in Worship – God inhabits the praises of His people. Part of what we should do in worship is to give Him praise and to celebrate His presence. Paul teaches the Corinthian church that even this noble activity must be done in moderation (an apparent critique of the excessively exuberant celebrations of the “tongues” crowd). Praise is good and necessary but it also must be done in moderation.
3. Giving – God loves a cheerful giver. But He teaches that even our giving should be in moderation. Now, it is true that the only proper way to give is to give God everything. And that we should do. However, from a “giving away” perspective (that is, what you give to the church to be disbursed for ministry in the Name of Christ), God teaches a tithe (10%). In other words, God commands even moderation in what we give while allowing us to make all that we can (as far as I know there is no prohibition against making only a certain amount of money). Now, for those who are gifted at making money there is a commensurate spiritual gift of giving that exceeds the 10% rule but it remains a moderation of the whole. These are just a few examples of the principle of moderation. That makes me thankful. When God had Adam and Eve in the Garden He told them to eat of all the trees, except one. Moderation. When the Apostle Paul was struck with his “thorn in the flesh” he said it was to prevent him from becoming “conceited” because of these great wondrous revelations he was receiving. Again, the principle seems to be that of moderating even blessings so that nothing in life is out of balance. So, while I have the NFL Ticket and can watch all games beginning with the ones that start at 10am on Sunday morning, I will still go to church. Why? Because all of life is to be in balance. Hmmm. I wonder if I can find a church that has a Saturday night service?