Temperance, the fourth and final Cardinal Virtue, deals with
the inner-life of man--the battle that occurs in the human mind, will, and
heart. All of us are subject to certain
passions: anger, greed, gluttony, depression, lust, etc. When we are drunk with these passions, they
subdue, enslave, and conquer us. The
person with temperance is the one who has gained by God's grace enough
self-mastery to overcome these passions.
Examples from scripture refer to temperance primarily as self-control
and sober-mindedness:
·
Like a city breached, without walls, is one
who lacks self-control.[i]
·
Athletes exercise self-control in all
things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one.[ii]
·
For God did not give us a spirit of
timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.[iii]
·
For the grace of God that
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly,
in this present world.[iv]
·
Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same
sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.[v]
If we lack sober-mindedness and self-control, we will
experience the world through our passions, with dangerous consequences for
ourselves and for our relationships with God and our neighbor. We will also be subject to the entertainment
and advertising industries, both of which make a careful study of manipulating
human desires. Having temperance means
that our desires have been purified and we can enjoy God's good creation as we
were truly designed to do.
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