moderation?

In A Year with C.S. Lewis, we read today from the January 28 selection.

Lewis is speaking as Screwtape, a demon who is trying to learn how to tempt humans. He talks about moderation, and says some things that we must take in context.

What Screwtape is talking about here he calls "moderation". But what he really means is being "lukewarm". It's important to learn the difference, as there are times for moderation, and there are times for fervor.

What are we called to be fervent about? Love is one. There is no limit to how much we should love God and love other people. We can't love too much. Another thing is prayer. You can't pray too much. The Bible actually says to "pray without ceasing". So if you're praying every second of every day... you're still not praying too much.

So what are we supposed to be moderate about? Well, pretty much everything else, I think. We should be moderate in how much we try to be right, because otherwise we can fall into become scrupulous. We should be moderate about our health, or we might become obsessed. In most other areas of life, we should remember balance, and not go crazy about any one thing.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't do something alot. God has given each of us passions. Maybe your passion is cooking. If you absolutely love to cook, then you should cook alot. He didn't give you that passion for no reason. Find ways to praise God and help other people through your cooking.

But keep in mind that we always keep that balance. If someone needs us to set aside our cooking for a few minutes and talk to them, then insisting on our passion becomes selfish. As with all things, if we need wisdom in knowing how much to pursue something, or whether we need more balance, we can always ask for wisdom. God tells us that He will always give us more wisdom, if we just ask.

Thank You, God, for moderation, for passion, and for the wisdom to know the difference.