Organizing the Inside – Day 168 Practice Moderation

February 18, 2012 at 2:30 pm · Filed under Encouragement, Inspiration, Wisdom, Women's Ministry and tagged: Christianity, God, Moderation

In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. ~Proverbs 13:16

We should strive to do things in moderation.
Have you ever found yourself going overboard with something? Have you ever found yourself being obsessive? Living a simplified and balanced life means doing things in moderation. When it’s too much you know it. The phrase, “shop until you drop” is exactly how many of us feel when out on a shopping spree. You can feel it when you are overdoing things and we must be prudent by setting limits.

Even good things must have boundaries.
Establishing a limit for those things in our lives that we enjoy is not something we often consider. I used to love and I guess I still do, Ben and Jerry’s New York Fudge Chocolate Chunk ice cream. I would always have some on hand in my freezer. Just having it there seemed to bring me comfort. I really felt better when there was B&J in my freezer. I was well acquainted with most of the flavors, but the New York Fudge was the best of them all. Whenever I needed a little boost of encouragement, I would have a visit with my good friends Ben and Jerry. I’d actually come to rely on the feeling of temporary comfort I would get. Whenever I felt sad, anxious, worried, or sometimes even happy, I’d often seek council at the bottom of the ice cream container. I’d allowed myself to overindulge in something that I felt was completely harmless, which in moderation it likely is. I’d stopped being sensible about my attitude towards ice cream by too often overindulging. I’d allowed ice cream to hold a place in my life that only God can fill.

In my opinion passion is a good thing.
There is nothing wrong with pleasure. God has given us passions and abilities that are uniquely our own and for us to enjoy and share with others. God gave us enthusiasm about life’s simple indulgences, but we cannot allow ourselves to over indulge in anything. By doing things in moderation we protect ourselves from forming unreasonable dependencies on anything other than God. Practice moderation and find the inner peace that living a balanced life brings.

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