You Are God's Temple: Devotions From Time of GraceSample

Honor God With Balance in Your Life When people get really passionate about something, they often go to extremes in pursuing their passion. You’ve probably heard stories about swimmers who shave off absolutely all body hair or sluggers who sneak bodybuilding steroids and spend entire days in the weight room. The Christian church was built by passionate people. But sometimes that passion led to unhealthy extremes, and extremists sometimes became heroes that others tried to imitate. Single-minded devotion to Christ led some to stay single as monks, nuns, or priests, and to represent their singleness as a holier state. Here in America, Mother Ann Lee actually forbade marriage in her Shaker community. Both examples of “singleness” extremism led to an unhealthy reduction in respect for marriage. Passionate Christians, disgusted by immorality all around them, sometimes could not resist making laws and rules that God never made in an attempt to purify and protect people from sin. At various times in our nation’s history, Christian groups have condemned alcohol, movies, theater, card playing, and Sunday commerce. What the Christian church in the 21st century needs is careful Scripture study and balance. We need to help people navigate between the two extremes of legalism (making laws that God did not make) and libertinism (throwing off restrictions that God did impose) as they care for their temple.