BEYOND THE GOLDEN MEAN

By


"But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."
Matthew 11:16‭-‬19 ESV

¶Too much, not enough, never satisfied. The best of this world's philosophy, going back to Greeks such as Hesiod (c.700 bc), was 'moderation is best in all things’. But the saying never really says anything. What is moderation anyway? Who defines it? What is the definition of a moderately sized personal yacht? What about those who do not have the resources to choose between "too much" and "not enough"? The apostle Paul replaces this "Golden Mean" ethic. He says ' I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." (Philippians 4:11) For him, the "Goldilocks zone" was wherever God had put him, content, "praying and singing hymns to God", even chained to the floor of a jail in Phillppi (Acts 16:25).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE POWER TO FORGIVE

By
But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord . Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, "May the Lord see and avenge!" 2 Chronicles 24:21‭-‬22 ESV ¶Contrast Joash's response to that of Jesus, who, when He was reviled and crucified, asked God not to hold their sins against them. Which of the two of them had more of a right to seek vengeance? Which of the the two had more power to forgive? We can forgive when we know God is in control.
Read more

THE HORRIBLE PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE

By
Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. Psalm 36:10‭-‬11 ESV ¶The goal of the evil one is just to deprive us, not to have for himself the blessing of knowing God, just to take it away from us, just to drive us off the holy ground procured for us at the foot of the cross.
Read more

CORAM DEO? YES OR NO.

By
And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. 1 Chronicles 13:2‭-‬4 ESV ¶David gathers the people of Israel together in a great assembly and does something new. He asks their opinion. He asks them to inquire of the Lord for themselves, and decide. They have the opportunity to bring the ark of God close to them in their midst. Are they, unlike in the days of Saul, ready now to have the ark among them? Do they want to walk close to God, or keep Him at a distance? If His presence is right there, will it just become overly familiar to them? Will they begin to ignore Him and the ...
Read more