The last fruit that we are going to deal with is the fruit of Temperance.
When I think of the fruit of Temperance, I think of a thermostat.
Illus: You know what a thermostat does! It keeps the temperature in our homes under control. This is what the fruit of Temperance does in our life. It keeps our life under control.
Generally, when a preacher announces that he is going to preach on TEMPERANCE, everyone assumes he is going to preach against alcoholic beverages.
Illus: One Baptist minister was completing a temperance sermon with great sentiment. He said:
• “If I had all the beer in the world, I’d take it, and pour it into the river.”
• With even greater emphasis, he said, “And if I had all the wine in the world, I’d take it, and pour it into the river.”
• And then finally, he said, “And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I’d take it, and pour it into the river.” The sermon complete, he then sat down.
The song leader stood very cautiously, and announced with a smile, “For our closing song, let us sing Hymn #518: ‘Shall We Gather at the River’.”
The definition of Temperance has a much broader scope than just dealing with alcohol.
Let’s look at TWO things in this matter of Temperance. First, we want to consider.
I. TEMPERANCE AND DEFINITION
Look at 1 Cor. 10: 23, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”
We could paraphrase it this way, "Everything is permissible - but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible - but not everything is constructive."
WHAT IS PAUL SAYING?
Paul is saying that every day we deal with things that ARE NOT SIN, but we can MAKE THEM SIN IF WE DO NOT PRACTICE SELF-RESTRAINT.
Paul speaks of running the race of the Christian life in 1 Cor. 9:26-27. We read, “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Paul is talking about a balance in the Christian life.
The devil knows he is wasting his time tempting us to do certain sins, because we know that they are SINFUL AND DESTRUCTIVE.
So the devil takes GOOD THINGS in our life and makes us go to the EXTREME with these things, so they will become sin in our life.
The idea of temperance traces back to ancient Greece. It was Plato who identified what he determined to be the four "Natural virtues" which lead to "moral excellence" in human living:
• Justice
• Prudence
• Fortitude
• Temperance
The apostle Paul compiled nine virtues, which he called "The Fruit of the Spirit," and he included Temperance (self-control or self-restraint),
Temperance in a broad definition has to do with SELF-RESTRAINT in all areas of our life.
We looked at TEMPERANCE AND DEFINITION, but we also need to look at-
II. TEMPERANCE AND DESTRUCTION
Illus: When author Bill Bennett put together his “Book of Virtues” a few years back, he included self-discipline as one of his ten essential traits for wise and responsible living.
Bennett went on to point out the obvious truth that, "There is much unhappiness and personal distress in the world because of [human] failures to control [our] tempers, appetites, passions and impulses."
As we look around us, we see that many have destroyed their lives because they have no restraint when it comes to:
• Gambling
• Sex
• Drugs
• Alcoholic beverages
• Pornography
•Tobacco
Every day we see those who have destroyed their lives.
When we allow GOOD THINGS and BAD THINGS in our life to get OUT OF CONTROL, we have formed an addiction in our life.
Addiction is when something that we like, enjoy or need in life takes over (or begins to dominate) our lives to the detriment of our health, our balance as persons and our relationships with others.
There are so many good and essential things in life to which one can become destructively addicted. For example:
A. FOOD
Food is a necessity in life, but food can become an addiction. Our churches are filled with people who do not EAT TO LIVE; they LIVE TO EAT!
There are people who are taking years off their life because of this addiction. Their life is out of control!
Illus: They are literally digging their grave with a knife and a fork.
Illus: A dietician was once addressing a large audience in Chicago. "The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago.
• Red meat is awful
• Vegetables can be disastrous
• We don’t realize the germs in our drinking water
But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and most of us eat it.
Can anyone here tell me what deadly food I'm referring to?”
“You, sir, in the first row, please give us your idea."
The man lowered his head and said, "Wedding cake."
Food is a necessity in life. God wants us display self-restraint so we love Him more than we love FOOD.
A good way to see if you love God more than you love food is to FAST.
God honors fasting because it is putting God ahead of FOOD!
We need a balance in our life when it comes to food. But it is obvious that some people are OUT OF CONTROL WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD!
They need to allow the Holy Spirit to give them the FRUIT OF TEMPERANCE in their life.
But let me show you another way people are out of control in their life.
B. COMPUTERS
Some folks think computers are sinful and they will tell you, “I DO NOT WANT ONE OF THOSE THINGS IN MY HOME OR OFFICE!”
Listen, when television, radio, and the telephone came out, the same thing was said of them.
Illus: Computers are not sinful. A computer is like a car; IT CAN BE USED FOR GOOD OR BAD!
For those of us who work with computers and appreciate them, it is difficult to understand how we ever got along without them. But there are times when we wish we had never heard of a computer.
• WHEN OUR COMPUTER GETS A VIRUS
Illus: For example, there is an “Ellen Degeneres” Virus floating around now. It affects your computer by your IBM suddenly claiming it's a MAC.
• When we have to wade through all the email we get.
Illus: I feel like the little boy who was watching his mother sift through and delete a long list of junk e-mail on the computer screen.
• The little boy said, "This reminds me of the Lord's Prayer."
• Mother said, "What do you mean?"
• "You know. That part about 'deliver us from E-mail.’"
Computers have done two things for us:
(1)Given us a wealth of information with just the touch of a few keys on our computer
(2) Given us communication with people around the world
But concerning computers, we have to understand that some people have no SELF-RESTRAINT and the computer has taken over their lives.
There are people who are on the computer ALL DAY long. THEIR LIFE IS OUT OF CONTROL when it comes to the computer!
Illus: A man and wife were both in an Internet business, but it was the husband who truly lived, ate and breathed computers.
His wife finally realized how bad it had gotten, when one day she was scratching his back, and he said "No, not there. Scroll down a little."
C. DRUGS
When we think of drugs, we generally think of something bad. But listen, ALL DRUGS ARE NOT BAD!
• We all know that many times people go to doctors and they do not have the slightest idea what is wrong with them. Many times these doctors, instead of telling the patient they do not know how to help them, give their patients pills to make them feel better. These are not doctors; they are no more than DRUG PUSHERS with a license.
• There are doctors who are skillful enough to know how to help their patients, and they can prescribe a medication that will help them.
• Many know what it is like to have a loved one that is facing death, and the pain is excruciating, and the doctor can prescribe something to help them to deal with the pain.
All drugs are not bad! But it is one area of our life we have to have SELF-RESTRAINT in, because we can find ourselves becoming addicted to a certain kinds of drugs.
There certainly is nothing wrong with drugs if they are used properly, but when people are popping pills all day long, they are just like the drug addicts on the streets.
D. CHOCOLATE AND CAFFEINE
Listen, there certainly is nothing wrong with eating chocolate or drinking a good cup of coffee, but some people have taken something good and made it sinful. Their life is out of control when it comes to chocolate and caffeine, and they can’t get enough!
Illus: They remind me of the soldier that said to a fellow soldier:
• "Pass me the chocolate pudding, would you?"
• Second soldier: "No way, Jose!"
• First soldier: "Why not?"
• Second soldier: "It's against regulations to help another soldier to dessert!"
There are people in our society that have lost all control of themselves when it comes to chocolate. THEY HAVE BECOME CHOCOHOLICS!
Illus: Here is what the CHOCOHOLIC believes and lives their life by:
• When no one understands you, chocolate is there.
• Seven days without chocolate makes one weak.
• The 12-step chocoholics program: never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate!
• Life without chocolate is no life at all.
• Chocolate is cheaper than therapy, and you don't need an appointment.
• There is nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate.
• Chocolate doesn't make the world go around... but it certainly makes the trip worthwhile.
• I would give up chocolate, but I'm no quitter.
• If God had meant us to be thin, he would not have created chocolate.
• There's a thin person inside of me screaming to get out, but I keep her sedated with chocolate.
• Plump lady to the waitress: “I would like to have DEATH BY CHOCOLATE for dessert, but only enough to put me in critical condition.”
• I must be allergic to chocolate. Every time I eat it, I break out into fat all over.
• You know your diet is in trouble when you count your blessings and chocolate is always the first one.
Listen, there is nothing in this world wrong with eating chocolate, but we can take a good thing like eating CHOCOLATE or drinking a CUP OF COFFEE and turn it into an addiction.
E. TELEVISION
There is nothing wrong with television if you watch the right thing. But watching television can be a sin if your television viewing is OUT OF CONTROL.
Television has been good but it also has been very bad for our families. It's amazing how quickly children take to the television. Even infants find the sound, colors and movement of television to be appealing.
By the time children are pre-school, they are willing to sit in front of television for long periods. Now add videotapes, and your child can watch an endless array of talking dogs, giggling dinosaurs and dancing mice.
So, how does all this affect your child's development?
Watching television and videotapes has a calming influence on most children for the short term. However, the long-term effects can create a cause for concern.
Illus: Here are some tips on family television viewing:
• Limit television viewing to no more than one hour per day. Unstructured viewing tends to dull children and can be linked to poor performance on tests that involve reasoning skills.
• Select one full 24-hour day each week to be TV-free. Plan games, activities and other fun around the house or outdoors.
• Don't allow television viewing during meals. Frequently the evening meal is the best and most productive time for family communications about the day's occurrences and topics important to the family. With the television on, attention is riveted on the television set, human communication comes to a standstill, and no one pays attention to what they're eating.
Balance is an important element of life. Life has to be more than sitting in front of a television set.
F. FUN
We all seek to have fun in our life, but we have built a society of people in this country that is OUT OF CONTROL WHEN IT COMES TO FUN. Everything has to be fun, or people will not have anything to do with it.
Illus: Years ago, Dr. Odell Belger was principal of a Christian school. And before he would enroll a student, he would have an interview with the parents and the children together. After he greeted them, he would ask the potential student, “What do you think about coming to a Christian School?”
Often, the question would be asked, “Is it fun going to school here?”
And he would shock them and say, “The children have fun at recess, but to answer your question, No, it is not a lot of fun, it is a lot of work when you come to school here.”
• Listen, this age is out of control when it comes to FUN. We have adults that can’t hold a job because they think work should be all fun.
• We have people leaving good Bible preaching and Bible teaching churches because they heard that some other church down the street places the emphasis on HAVING FUN and PLAYING GAMES.
There certainly is nothing wrong with having FUN in life, but we need a balance in our life, because life is not all fun.
G. EXERCISE
Exercise is something good.
Illus: Did you hear about the man who said, “My grandmother started walking 4 miles a day when she was 65 years of age. We still don't know where she is.”
Illus: Did you hear about the man who said he spent $400 on a health club and never lost a pound? Then he found out he was supposed to show up.
Illus: Another man said, “I have to sneak in my exercise program first thing in the morning before my brain wakes up and finds out what I'm doing.”
Illus: Another man said, “The good part about exercise is that you die healthier.”
Exercise is something good. But there are those who have made their bodies their gods.
Illus: One of the famous body builders was asked how much he worked out each day to get a body like he had. He said that he spent 6 to 8 hours a day in the gym six days a week.
It is good to exercise, but there are some folks who are OUT OF CONTROL when it comes to exercise. We need a balance in our life when it comes to exercise.
Conclusion:
God wants our life under control. He wants the Holy Spirit to instill in us the fruit of TEMPERANCE (Self-Control). But it is something you have to be willing for Him to do.
We have looked at:
I. TEMPERANCE AND DEFINITION
II. TEMPERANCE AND DESTRUCTION
