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Chosen no: R-5840 , from: 1916 Year. |
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THE VALUE OF MODERATION
"Let your moderation be known unto all men.
The Lord is at hand."--Philippians 4:5.
QUESTION.--The Apostle Paul says, "Let
your moderation be known unto all men."
What is the particular thought here in the
word "moderation," and what is the connection
between these words and the sentence,
"The Lord is at hand," which follows?
Answer.--The Spirit of the Lord is said
to be a spirit of wisdom, a spirit of justice, a
spirit of love, a spirit of a sound mind.
Whoever, therefore, receives the Spirit of
the Lord, in proportion as he receives it, has these qualities
of mind and heart. At the beginning of a Christian's
experience, the measure of this moderation, or reasonableness,
or gentleness, is of course, comparatively small.
But he gradually gets a greater appreciation of the value
of this quality. His ideas become more reasonable as he
becomes sanctified by the Spirit. He will have more and
more of the spirit of a sound mind, of gentleness, meekness,
and will become more and more prepared for the
Kingdom soon to be established.
This attitude of mind comes in large measure as a
result of knowledge. As he comes to know more about
God and His plans, more about the origin of sin in the
world, how it came about and how its penalty has passed
upon all men by a process of heredity, the true disciple
of Christ feels more of the spirit of moderation and acts
with more consideration and charity toward others than
if men were perfect. As we realize that these imperfections
vary in number and in degree in different persons,
so in our dealings we must be moderate toward all, wise
in our dealings with all, patient toward all, having the
spirit of justice, of reasonableness, of mercy.
This injunction of the Apostle does not refer to the
exercise of this quality toward the Church only, but
toward all men. Properly, of course, this moderation
would begin at home, and would be more particularly
manifest in good works in the Church, as in opposition
to the evil sentiment--anger, malice, evil-surmising,
hatred, strife--works of the flesh and of the Devil. But
the spirit of moderation should not be confined to the
home, but should be manifested toward all with whom
we have intercourse or dealings. It was said of the
Apostles that people "took knowledge of them that they
had been with Jesus and learned of Him." We should
[R5840 : page 30] so live before all, both the brethren and the world, that
they would thus take knowledge of us. We should see to
it that our conduct is a credit to the great and noble
Cause with which we are identified.
The connection between letting our moderation be
known and the statement, "The Lord is at hand," seems
to be that the Lord's people are to have in mind their
expectation based upon the promises of God's Word, that
Messiah's Kingdom is shortly to be established, and that
this should help them in living an exemplary life. Whether
the passage should be considered from the viewpoint that
the Church of the Apostles' time were living in the latter
part of the great seven-thousand-year week, and that the
great Sabbath was at hand, when the Lord was about to
come and set up His Kingdom and set things straight in
the world, and that hence they could well be patient and
considerate, or whether it should be from the viewpoint
of time--that the Lord's children should exercise the
grace of moderation because they had little time left in
which to manifest it--we do not know. At any rate,
knowing that the opposition of sin will not last very
much longer, we may have the greater patience and exercise
this patience with the greater ease when we have
[R5841 : page 30] this thought before our minds.
The Apostle gives a similar thought when he says that
the tribulations which the Lord's people undergo are not
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed
in them. This should make us very moderate,
very forbearing, under circumstances which would make
others very rude, very angry, very immoderate. We can
be very gentle, not only because of our knowledge of the
nearness of the Kingdom, but also because of our knowledge
of the weaknesses of others, which cause them to
impinge upon our rights.
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