October 13

“Let your moderation be known to all men,” Philippians 4:5, makes an assertion that although we know we should heed, we probably don’t. We don’t particularly espouse the notion of being tempered; we prefer to be recognized for the depth of our passion, for the high level of our intensity.

We want to stand out from the crowd around the office cooler who take a little too long for lunch and who spend a little too much time focused on the office intrigues than they do for their commitment to the project. We want to be a cut above the neighbor who allows his grass to grow a little too high before mowing.

We prefer to be the one who doesn’t look frazzled at the end of a long day—the one whose luster doesn’t diminish due to the wear and tear of the demands we’ve fulfilled. We want to be the one who gets the notice of the guy in charge, we want to be the one who gets the boss’s nod for promotion.

We want to excel. And we can excel while being moderate. We can have verve while being grounded in Christ rather than exultant in ourselves. We achieve that goal best by acknowledging that it is Jesus who must receive the glory and by lifting Him up when accolades are placed at our feet.