As a society we celebrate those who live wholly unbalanced.
We idolize professional athletes, captains of industry, and political savants for their singular focus. We love their exhibitions of mastery and lust after their seemingly outlandish lifestyles. Although their unbalanced and single-minded efforts may yield profound results in their chosen field, their approach routinely leaves a wake of destruction. Their lack of self-control often being their undoing. Yet, even after we have watched their lives dissolve in epic fashion before us, we still might be willing to trade our own.
This dichotomy is not new to our generation. We have unfortunately mired in this tenant of human nature since at least the times of Solomon. He offered the wisdom below in response:
“Moderation is better than muscle,
self-control better than political power.”
I think we suffer from an inaccurate view of moderation and self-control. Not that we have a negative connotation necessarily, but that they are seen as limitations to what our experiences and life ultimately could be. We have somehow been errantly led to believe that true freedom is a life absent moderation and self-control. A life wholly unchecked.
However, we don’t live in a vacuum. And an abandonment of pace leads to discord in our lives. Our actions, attitudes, and approaches have a significant impact on those around us. Only increasing in intensity the closer the relationship. I’m sure we’ve all experienced the highs and lows of this reality.
So maybe we need to turn the focus of moderation and self-control away from ourselves and turn it towards those we care about most. Perhaps in keeping their well-being at forefront of our minds this week, we might approach moderation and self-control with renewed vigor.