Are you given to excess? That extra 30 minutes of sleeping in. That extra 2 scoops of ice cream. Those extra three fingers of whiskey. That lingering gaze on the swimsuit ad. That extra tidbit of gossip that you sneak into a conversation. That extra oomph you add when you’re spanking the unruly toddler. That extra transaction on a credit card you’ve not paid off. These are all examples of excess.
To be given to excess is to ignore God’s command to sobriety and self-control. When you give yourself over to excess in one area, you are inviting the devil to tempt you to excess in every area. Being given to excess is defying the finitude your being. You aren’t a boundless creature. By God’s good design, you are framed with skin and bones, mind and emotions, that are not limitless.
God is a good God. He gave us nerve endings. He created us to feel and enjoy pleasure. He made us to delight in beauty. But to give yourself over to excess is to deceive yourself into the delusional thinking that you should be confine by nothing.
So, run an audit on your desires. Perhaps you identify areas where you’ve given yourself over to various excesses. What should be done? First of all, confess that you have fancied your glory to be greater than it is. You don’t have a limitless capacity. Secondly, you should think about excess along these lines. If it’s cold outside, a fire’s warmth is a blessing. But to jump into the bonfire would be to completely pervert the blessing. So, thank God for framing you according to His design, and then live frugally, temperately, and soberly. Remember that you are finite, and that is by God’s design. So receive all His gifts with grateful sobriety, rather than the delusional excess of thinking that you are infinite.
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