I firmly believe that there is no room for moderation in the Christian life. Not only are the pressing spiritual and physical needs of the world far too great for us to live moderately (extreme situations will never be solved by moderately-lived lives), but were these needs not so dire, we should still avoid moderation by principle. If we are called to reflect the character of God in everything that we do (1 John 16-17, for example, though this idea is found all over the Bible), and if God is infinite in His every characteristic, then doesn’t it follow that we should strive to do everything we do with the infinitude in which God does it?
When the Bible presents two seemingly opposed ideas or commands, both of which we are supposed to follow or believe, it never moderates them—it reconciles them. For example, we know that God is loving (John 3:16), but we also know that God is just, and as sinners we deserve every bit of his condemnation and wrath (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23). It would be ludicrous, however, to work our way around this dilemma by stating that God was 50% loving and 50% just. If God is 50% anything, He is no longer God. This “divine dilemma” is not moderated, but rather reconciled by the cross—a satisfaction of 100% of His wrath and a display of 100% of His love.
Does God call us to be moderate with our money (Luke 18:18-23)? Does God call us to be moderate with our time? If there is one thing that God has been convicting me of recently, it has been my false idea of moderation. I have found that areas in which I have submitted to the unbiblical idea of “moderation is key” have not actually been areas where “moderation is key.” They have been areas where sin has dominated my life and where I have been using the word “moderation” as my scapegoat.
The most recent dilemma that God has worked me through has been the dilemma of airy and grandiose theology versus practical acts of love. I know that I am supposed to contemplate the grandeur of God day and night. After all, it’s the highest intellectual act the mind can engage in. I also know, however, that if all this contemplation causes me to miss out on hugging a child, building a fence, or cleaning a school, then my head is hopelessly in the clouds. On the other end of the spectrum, if I am so deeply wrapped up in the mundane tasks of day to day life (no matter how humanitarian they are) that I fail to contemplate and worship the infinitely un-mundane majesty of God, then I am really no different than the secular social worker—improving people’s physical surroundings while leaving their eternal souls to rot.
Finally, though, I have realized that there is no “fine line” I need to walk between in-the-clouds contemplation of Yahweh and on-the-ground good works, because the former causes the latter. The more I contemplate the Glory of God, the more driven I am to do day-to-day good works. In this way, the two seemingly opposed ideas are reconciled. C.S. Lewis once said “The people who think the most about the next life are the ones who do the most in this life.” Though many people in the secular realm would argue otherwise, I would fully support this quote as I have seen it proven true in my own life. We feel much freer to give our money when we know it’s not the only treasure we’ll ever have. We are much more likely to lay down our lives for our brothers when we know that life eternal awaits. We are much more willing to risk being hurt by loving sacrificially when we know that we are loved by another (God), eternally and with complete faithfulness. Though people will talk about the idea of this life being “all there is” as something beautiful, their lives often say otherwise. This idea more often than not leads to paranoid greed. If this is our only go-round, we might as well squeeze all of our enjoyment in now!
As I work at Happy Home each day, my heart breaks. Though it certainly breaks for the sad situation of the children, it also breaks for the sad situation of itself. Much scarier than the fact that I am gazing at fifty abandoned children is the fact that my heart is so unaffected by it. How do I not weep when I know that nine year old Laxmi probably doesn’t know her own father’s name? How can I fall asleep at night when I realize that a lack of books in the school means that most of the children will never be able to read well?
I came to the realization that I just don’t have what it takes. I don’t have the energy to love these children the way they deserve to be loved. I don’t have the knowledge it takes to love these children the way they deserve to be loved. What is scariest, though, is that I don’t have the motivation to love these children the way they deserve to be loved. I am utterly incapable. Where does this leave us? It means I need God to love them through me and it means that I need God to change my emotions for me.
Think about the famous Psalm 51, which King David wrote after his affair with Bathsheba. In verses 12 and 13, he says:
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and renew a right spirit within me. Then I will teach the rebellious Your ways and sinners will return to You.”
As I read these words, I realized how applicable they were to my situation. David recognizes that he doesn’t have a right spirit, though rather than trying to correct it himself, He asks God to place the right spirit within him! One of the things I have prayed for is for the right spirit and the right emotions. I have prayed for God to make me appropriately moved by what I see around me. He has certainly answered that prayer.
We took some of the older children into the middle of Kathmandu this week to sing, dance, and perform some songs they had practiced for the holiday and one of the things I prayed on the bus ride was, “God, give me the right emotions. Give me your emotions.” He certainly did. As our children peered into shop windows and I knew that they would likely never get the opportunity to shop in those districts or eat at those restaurants, my heart ached and my stomach turned.
After David asks God to renew a right spirit within him, he says, “then I will teach the rebellious your ways and sinners will return to you.” It’s awesome how David fully understands that the placing of a right spirit within him is what will prompt the day-to-day action on his part. If he has the right spirit inside of him, then he will be able to go and act appropriately!
Lastly, though, I love the first thing that David asks God to do! Before he acts, he needs a right spirit, but before he gets the right spirit, he needs to contemplate and worship and bathe in the joy of his salvation! He needs to ponder and appreciate and recognize the majesty of God (manifest, in this case, in His wondrous act of salvation)! First, enjoy and contemplate the majesty of God (the first part of the dilemma mentioned above), then have a right spirit, then complete the day-to-day actions. This is a beautiful order and it’s the only order that works. Try having a right spirit towards the situations around you without having a grand picture of God—it won’t work! Try completing your day-to-day Christian acts of love without having a right spirit—it also won’t work!
My team used this order a few days ago, though we did so more by accident, and it worked beautifully. To use it again, however, we will have to be intentional. After lunch, we had an amazing conversation on the roof our school about what our reactions will be in heaven when we see God directly. This conversation in and of itself was an answer to a previous prayer of mine— that I would be more amazed by God’s character than I previously was. The conversation motivated and encouraged us all and that led me to recognize the disparity between the excitement that God brings to all aspects of life and my lack of enthusiasm for two more hours of teaching after lunch. When I recognized this disparity, I prayed silently for the proper emotions and God brought them. With newfound enthusiasm, we completed our afternoon tasks with the type of effective Christian love that we should always have.
To get anything done on earth, we have to have the right spirit. To have the right spirit, we have to keep our heads in the clouds.
