Moderation & End of the World

Philippians 4:5

Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

I did a little investigation of the Greek word used here by Paul for moderation. I discovered an interesting fact. The same word is used by James and Peter in their respective Epistles. Paul, Peter, and James, the Pillars of the Early Church. I think we can conclude that moderation, being gentle, and patience, is pretty high on the list of Christ virtues and is in fact a component of love. Impatience is often an outworking of pride, believing that we are first in all things. Jostle to the front of the line. Me first. Don't you know who I am?

On Sunday, I met a buddy for beers at The Fridge, a Lancaster City establishment, that looks like a garage for beer and pizza, with a certain Craft chic. As we sat in comfy chairs around the big potty belly stove, made way back in the day in Columbia, Pa., we shot the breeze for a few hours. We sipped our beers. I selected as one of my two beers for the day the one above. La Fin Du Monde. Translation: The End of the World. The name refers to some explorer in Canada/Quebec stating that going that far North was like coming to the end of the world because of the cold and barrenness.

Due to the Polar Vortex flying south like a flock of frozen birds bringing the Arctic into Central Pa on their wings, this beer is fitting for the cold temperatures. High in ABV and taste, it is to be enjoyed slowly, with appreciation. It is not junk beer like Keystone Light, which many drink a twelve pack like eating a big bag of Doritos.

It is very intriguing that Paul joins his thoughts on moderation with the end of the world. This is not a non-sequitur. We must always keep the end in mind and work backwards. Whether the world ends and Jesus comes back, or we end before the world does and are ushered to Jesus for judgment, the results are the same. Game over, be careful how we live with this end being inevitable.

The American Creed has been something like this for quite some time: Get all that you can before your croak. This mania creates a soul fever. The passing is the closest thing to permanence that we can wrap our paws around. It is really a warped response, indicative of the desperation of a world that disregards the ways of God. Intellectuals and the cultural elite are more guilty of this than the dispossessed and downtrodden who have had such unwise expectations and appetites starved out of them. They are looking for a better world because this one to them is so clearly not catering to them. Or, are at least more receptive to the message of the Gospel.

The Rich walk away, like the Young Ruler, from Jesus. The answer being, "Not now" which is often just another way of saying "Not Ever." Moderation is the intrinsic awareness that the infinite and eternal are a breath away for all of us. We can enjoy things because they are not ultimate. We don't break them or ourselves with a reckless consumption.

I am convinced that moderation is often much harder than renunciation. Renunciation is actually perhaps a self-righteousness working itself out. It is certain that God calls us to renounce our idols, yet an idol is typically something that has become inordinate and ultimate. Losing its rightful place, good things become bad things--because of the magnification of our hearts of them. Cutting them down to size, such things resume their rightful station. Enjoy, don't worship. Sip. Realize that the thirst is deeper than merely the physical and material.