16 ¶ Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
Philippians 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
It is an understandable maxim. Don’t over do anything. The Ancient Egyptians had a saying which was found written on a papyrus; “We live on a third of what we eat. Our doctors live on the other two thirds.” Americans have made an art form out of overindulgence. Alcohol, drugs, food, material possessions, and obsessions with things sexual fill our news and entertainment worlds.
In today’s world we have information coming at us from every direction in ways our ancestors never dreamed of. Do you spend too much time fretting over the news which seems so similar to me decade after decade with just the names changing? Jobs moving overseas or coming back, a crisis in the Middle East, the world and its money problems, and our own political games all keep ringing in our heads in every generation. Do you watch the news and worry over it so much that it makes you sick? Maybe a key to your cure is to spend more time reading God’s words than listening to some talking head on the TV or disembodied voice on the radio.
In our information age we have become addicted to knowing. But what do we really know when it’s all said and done? Emails go around spreading lies, news site after news site repeat the same misinformation copied from one source. It isn’t so much that we have a great deal of news and solid information available to us but that we have a great deal of propaganda coming at us from every direction.
Older people can spend too much time thinking about the past. As Solomon points out in Ecclesiastes there is a time for everything and it is not wise to say that days past were better than now. Man has been sinful and wicked in every age. Each generation has looked at several generations ahead in shock at the new things they are doing and allowing, and yet, there is nothing new under the sun. I even have read of Roman philosophers lamenting at how the latest generation in their day was disrespectful of their elders and lazy good for nothings two thousand years ago. Give your memories adequate but limited time to occupy your mind lest you become useless to impart the wisdom you’ve learned to the young person in front of you today by constantly crying over a past long gone.
So, young people, be selective in how much you eat, drink, sleep, are entertained, and enlightened. Do different things throughout the day. Don’t sit glued to the glass toilet, hellivision, for hours. Don’t stay attached to Facebook or some other social media for hours. We all need food, exercise, companionship, work, and most of all, our spiritual food in moderation. I can remember for a couple of years trying to read the Bible through each month. It took a great deal of time and I missed a lot of things because I was unable to concentrate for the length of time it took to accomplish my task. So, I still read every day but a half hour to an hour for reading is all I can stay focused on.
The more time you spend in the world, though, the less time you’ll spend in the word. Remember that. Start your day with the Bible and prayer.
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