“Athletes exercise self-control in all things;

they do it to receive a perishable wreath, 

but we an imperishable one.”

–1 Corinthians 9:25

For a short time after college, I lived in a small town west of Charlotte.  During my one summer there, the biggest local topic was a referendum coming up in November. What was being proposed was liquor-by-the-drink, allowing restaurants to serve alcohol alongside the food. The existing law only permitted brown-bagging. It was a hotly debated issue and all surveys suggested the vote would be close.

In the weeks leading up to that decision, the airways and newspaper were filled with ads trying to convince the public one way or the other. None of those efforts, though, had a more impactful effect than an event the night before the polls opened.

On that evening, the leader of the liquor-by-the-drink group died of a heart attack.  His passing was front page news the next morning and when the votes were counted that evening, the referendum had been defeated by a wide margin. Journalists began to ponder what had happened. While certainly polling efforts could have been flawed, the post-election analysis I recall hearing focused on a different factor. Given the conservative religious ethos of that community, many editorials suggested that voters understood that man’s death as a clear sign of God’s preference on the referendum. 

Five years later, the same town became the first in that county to approve liquor-by-the-drink. Yet on Election Day in 1980, the decision was for temperance, the heavenly virtue that is our focus during this third week of Lent. 

The contrasting deadly sin for temperance is gluttony, a term we don’t use much these days. We might speak of someone who willingly accepts tasks that others avoid as “a glutton for punishment,” but I’m not sure I have ever used the word “gluttony” in a conversation. Have you?

I could only find four times when the Bible uses the word “glutton” or a variation of it either.  The sage of Proverbs warns “Do not be among winebibbers, or among gluttonous eaters of meat; for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty.” (23:20-21).  Deuteronomy prescribes that a rebellious son be brought before the town elders and have the father declare “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious.  He will not obey us. He is a glutton and drunkard.” The prescribed penalty for such behavior?  Stoning the son to death.  Yikes!

In the New Testament, the term is found twice as well, both telling of the same moment. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus speaks of how the crowds ridiculed John the Baptist for fasting and restraining from alcohol. Such counter-cultural behavior led the masses to say that John had a demon. “The Son of Man,” Jesus continued, using a title for himself, “has come eating and drinking and you say, ‘Look a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (7:23). The same scene is recounted in Matthew 11:18-19.  

Yet even if the word is not a regular part of the Biblical record or our everyday speech, the behavior it describes is well-known and a problem. Individuals can be gluttons with alcohol or food, relationships or work, shopping or possessions. Webster defines gluttony as a “greedy or excessive indulgence.” Thus the idea of temperance, or moderation, is a heavenly trait worth seeking.   

The Bible doesn’t use the word “temperance” either (other than in the KJV), but instead refers to the same value as self-control. Among such passages is the place where Proverbs describes a person without self-control as being like a city without protective walls. (25:28). The “fruits of the Spirit” named in Galatians lists self-control among the desired characteristics. And there is the moment cited above when the Apostle Paul makes an analogy for such behavior with athletes “who exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.”

Paul offers that point as part of an extended defense of his decision not to accept financial support for the Corinthian ministry, but his meaning is broader. As self-control, or temperance, is an intentional choice to limit oneself in one or more settings where behavior needs to be altered. Another way to express it is as a choice for moderation. 

My favorite Registered Dietician believes that someone who suddenly cuts out salt, red meat, or fried foods is much more likely to fail in the effort to alter their diet than one who makes small, incremental changes. A debate is being played out in the news right now about how much alcohol, if any, is safe to consume. How do we set limits on our work schedule when supervisors demand that we be accessible by phone or text at any time? The need for temperance can take many forms. The hope of that heavenly attribute is that we will continue to grow in modeling it.  

I encourage you to examine your life this week for any behaviors that need to be moderated. Ask a loved one if she or he has something to suggest in that regard, too. If such a search reveals that gluttony is not a major issue for you, then focus on another heavenly trait that is a greater challenge. Yet if such reflection identifies ways in which you need to grow in temperance, then resolve this day to take a first step.

All in such a way that you may or may not continue to be a glutton for punishment, but will always be a passionate seeker of the kind of abundant life God intends for you. 

Lord of life, you have created me as a reflection of your image. Take away the extreme in me. Help me grow in such a way that my choices are more and more like yours. Amen.