Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book III, 10-11 10. If you struggle with these, it is best to abstain from them altogether. Throughout our lives, we will all have struggles against temptations for what we know to be detrimental to ourselves and others. Do we use these things to just kill time, to waste the precious moments we've been given to acquire virtue and gain happiness? Prayers to St. Joseph, the model of married chastity, are especially powerful in overcoming such temptations. So even though temperance is not to be confused with the Christian's ultimate goal, it is still an essential prerequisite for happiness. The simplest definition of temperance is “the virtue which moderates in us the inordinate desire for sensible pleasure, keeping it within the limits assigned by reason and faith.” (Divine Intimacy). Porn is essentially filmed prostitution. There cannot be one or the other toward evil. When one is directed in reason to be made whole (in Christ through temperance), one must have a cheerfulness of heart. Recall the first lesson, where we saw that all evil comes from an inappropriate mode of pursuing a good. Addictions, for example, make cultivating temperance difficult or impossible. Christ will return and have absolute wrath against the evil and compassion toward the repentant. Printed with permission from eCatholicHub. For an intemperate person - that is, someone who permits their impulses to run rampant - it is much harder to see the truth, and much harder to do what is right. One cannot be just, fortitudinous or temperate without knowing the Good. Prudence is knowing the Good. If someone were to ask the question "What's a good Christian?" The addictive nature of these things makes temperance toward them impossible. In drunkenness (and also illegal drug use), we take our beautiful nature, a masterpiece of creation, and we contort and twist it into something ugly. Unfortunately, it seems our little lizard brains can’t get enough of the stuff and the damaging effects continue to stack up as research continues. By a loving, respectful man? It’s the only thing people eat besides water that is an inert chemical. The Greek translation of moderation is that of directing reason. Pornography, or any visual sexual objectification of a person is another widespread form of lust (note that making use of someone sexually doesn't require the sense of touch; the eyes are equally capable). What desire, what urge dominates you to the point of harming your capacity for virtue and goodness? He gives man courage to move forward through obstacles set by the world, Satan, and self-centeredness. In a culture of ipods, portable dvd players, home televisions, car radios, cell-phones, and video games, we are perpetually bombarded with services designed for our personal amusement. The marriage of God and the believer fulfills the relationship. Hope in Christ and the culmination of God’s kingdom make all the virtues “worth it.” And love (agape/charity) is what drives all virtue. Truth be told, sugar is better classified as a drug than a food. Knowing God’s goodness, brings justice, which is fortified by fortitude, which temperance humbles man to know all the other virtues. That's because temperance is about maintaining the good, but you can only maintain the good if you already have some idea of what the good is and how to acquire it. Modesty is also part of this order—this helps to deter temptation. Get some help. But because of Christ, he is bringing all things to order. We take the noble, dignified child of God and turn him into a creature that is low, unintelligent, and out-of-control. “Sugar activates the opiate receptors in our brain and affects the reward center, which leads to compulsive behavior, despite the negative consequences like weight gain, headaches, hormone imbalances, and more.” link. We all need to be able to take a break, relax, and engage in some stress-relieving activity. Temperance is a balance between the extremes of decadence and self denial. These characteristics are all symptoms of exulting one's own identity to the detriment of the other goods. In the same way, with one’s search for the other (meaning god or gods) one can jump from one god to another. In a way, one can even be prideful in self-flagellation in the sense of knowing that he is smart but saying “I am not.” Pride is the one sin that stands against God while all other sin flees. Even moderate porn consumption is correlated with shrunken grey matter in parts of the brain that oversee cognitive function. There’s nothing wrong with pleasure on it’s own. To be a virtuous man begins with God. Intemperance in the areas of food and drink is called gluttony. Besides the obvious problems above, porn also encourages prostitution and sex trafficking. So too, the main purpose of life isn't just avoiding sin, but rather attaining perfect happiness. Courtesy of: http://www.schooloffaith.com/. God has put limits to protect us. Pray to God to reveal to you your weaknesses in the areas of self-control, and to give you the strength to free you from all addictions through the virtue of temperance. Nonetheless, if the car crashes or breaks down, it's not going to get you very far, and if we don't avoid sin, we're not going to become very happy. One final point about intemperance deals with the phenomenon of modern entertainment. Temperance disciplines self-seeking pleasure. Other areas of entertainment, while not being in themselves evil, are nonetheless very susceptible of taking too much of our focus, and can become distractions from that which has a greater demand on our time. The reason why we indulge is simple: Why not? There can even be a selfish, pleasure-seeking use of one's own spouse, where the focus is more on getting gratification than on loving. They jump from one idol to another because it did not fulfill their selfish need, so they seek another. These limits purify us to be in union with God on the Last Day. But that activity should be worthwhile, not morally offensive or a simple frittering away of time. The vice connected with alcohol is called drunkenness. Fortitude gives the man courage to stand up against evil and fulfill his good decision in the midst of opposition. The term abstinence has been co-opted by Christians to mean “not having sex until married” but the real meaning is simply self-restraint from pleasurable things. One must fight against what is evil and not be complacent when one knows the good of a given situation. Addictive drugs like alcohol and nicotine are dangerous not just because of their negative health effects but also because they rob their users of a clear choice to abstain. It is destructive, and hence temperance demands that it be carefully restrained. As we have seen, anger is sometimes perfectly fitting for a given situation. Being in a relationship with God makes the virtuous man. Notice that temperance is the last of the cardinal virtues. Lewis points out, every time a person is grumpy, impatient, uncharitable, or self-concerned because of their stomach, it's a case of gluttony. However, anger becomes intemperate when it is, a) inappropriate for the circumstances, that is, the anger is too long or too intense, or b) seeks to hurt others, get revenge, protect our egos, or show our importance and power.
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