🍽️ The Intemperance Trap: Reclaiming Self-Control in a World of Excess
This article tackles the daily battle against intemperance—the lack of self-control and spiritual discipline concerning what we consume (food, media, possessions, and activities). In a culture of unlimited access and instant gratification, the biblical solution centers on the foundational principle of ϵγκραˊτϵια (egkrateia) or temperance.
| Modern Problem | The Daily Friction Point | The KJV Anchor (The Solution) |
| Lack of Self-Control | The chronic inability to restrain consumption, leading to poor health, debt, and spiritual weakness. | Galatians 5:23 (KJV): “Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” |
The Problem: The Cult of Unrestrained Appetite
Modern society encourages the immediate satisfaction of every appetite, framing restraint as deprivation. This leads to a life ruled by impulse, creating major daily friction points: health decline (from overeating), financial stress (from overspending), and spiritual burnout (from media addiction). The core issue is the failure to recognize that spiritual warfare often manifests first in the physical body and the desires of the flesh.
| Modern Intemperance | Biblical Counterpart | Application for Daily Discipline |
| Habitual Overconsumption | Being enslaved to the stomach or worldly desires. | Philippians 3:19 (KJV): “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” Antidote: Recognize that unchecked appetite elevates the physical body (την κοιλιˊαν, koˉilian) to the place of God. Discipline requires recognizing the true authority over the body. |
| Spiritual Weakness | Losing the battle against smaller sins due to a lack of preparation. | 1 Corinthians 9:27 (KJV): “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Antidote: See the body as a servant that must be kept under subjection (υπωπιαˊζω, hypoˉpiazoˉ, literally “to strike under the eye”), actively training it to obey the spirit. |
The Solution: The Power of Egkrateia (Temperance)
The word “temperance” in the list of the Fruit of the Spirit is ϵγκραˊτϵια (egkrateia). This is not mere moderation; it is mastery—the ability to hold oneself in, specifically concerning desires and appetites. It is self-control empowered by the Holy Spirit.
1. The Divine Source: Fruit of the Spirit
Temperance is listed alongside characteristics like love, peace, and goodness. This establishes that self-control is not a grim act of human willpower alone, but a supernatural fruit produced by the Holy Spirit. If one struggles with intemperance, the solution is not stricter rules, but deeper connection to the Vine.
2. The Final Authority: Against Such There Is No Law
The phrase “against such there is no law” confirms that a life governed by the Spirit (and thus manifesting temperance) is a life that transcends the need for external regulation. The internally controlled heart lives above the condemnation of the law because it masters the very fleshly desires the law was meant to restrain.
This article provides the final, essential key to daily discipline: the spiritual power to govern our appetites. This internal mastery prepares the believer, not just for a healthy life, but for the moral and physical purity required for The Lord’s Return.