Everything in moderation.

Galatians 5:16-24

          I'd like to tell you something about my mother. She was a faithful servant and tried desperately to follow the will of God. Sadly for her she was at the mercy of the Church in that regard so she stayed married to an alcoholic for far too long and when she finally got the sense to ask for a divorce she was ostracized by the very church she loved so much. That's not what I wish to talk about though. Whatever failings she may have had, they were exacerbated by 4 young boys who were quite a handful, dad having moved out when I was 5. It was with this inherited insanity (she got from her boys) that she wound up getting into deep water sometimes. Common sense did not always prevail. Case in point, she is driving all 4 boys through a few inches of snow to get my brother to high school and driving ever so slowly.  One of us complained she was going too slow and the reaction was not tempered, it was exaggerated. She stepped on the gas and spun the wheels, fishtailing in the process and saying something like "is this what you want???" Not measured, simply the other extreme.

        Many people see things in those extremes. There is no tempered response to anything. You are either right or left. It is black or white.  You are either all in or all out.

        There are a vast majority of people who see passages like this one and read all the  evils listed in their extremis.  You are either a drunkard or you abstain totally.  The same goes for anything on that list.  Fornication? That means no sex before marriage, marriage is for procreation only and fun or pleasure is obviously and totally out of the question. One grenade that I might lob back is the devotion to Mary. Is that Idolatry? It seems to get pretty close. Can we show respect and love for Mary without trying to add her to the Trinity?

         Can't we have moderation? They say an occasional glass of wine, if not one a a day, actually has health benefits, may lower cholesterol and certainly acts as a relaxant at the end of a long work day if not just pleasant socially. The extremes are abstainance and being an alcoholic. If we are lead by the Spirit as this apssage says we should, are we to avoid everything on that list? Who is to interpret?

          There is a passage in Genesis for example, the story of Lot and his guests.  The townsmen wish to 'have their way' with these male guests. This would be aclled rape in case anyone cares to seriously think about it. To make matters worse Lot offers up his two daughters in their place. More rape. Lot wasn't offering the townspeople his daughters hands in marriage. The sexual relations suggested in this passage from Genesis is all about rape, fornication of the worst kind if I may say. Yet this passage is one of the prime sources quoted against homosexuality. These Bibilical experts do not suggest rape or inhospitable townsmen as an evil just man on man rape. So what of the moderation. Rape is bad in any context, straight or gay. This passage does not speak of normative, caring, loving, sharing, consensual and committed sexual relations of any kind, staright or gay. How does man on man rape become a guide to prohibit all sexual relations? If rape is rape, shouldn't straight sex be an abomination too?

            There should be moderation and common sense in all of the scriptures. Extremes of any kind are rarely a good thing. We don't forbid drinking do we?  We seem to settle very well for enmities, strife, jealosusy anger and quarrels. Don't we sknow that the extremes of all of them are bad and we try to minimize them in our lives.  Somewhere in the middle is what I would consider holy ground.

           In everything, moderation.  That is sex, drinking, jealousy and yes even radical interpretations of scripture.  Everything in moderation.

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.