Any experienced and well trained mountaineer will tell you that it is essential to have a resting point during the grueling climb. During the break, the mountain climber takes advantage of the opportunity to re-energize his physical and mental strength. As he is doing so, he takes a moment to reflect upon the distance covered to this point; but he also looks ahead to the ground that still needs to be traveled in order to reach the top. Because the mountaineer wants to reach his goal preferably when there is still daylight and the weather conditions are favorable, camp is set at the midway point of the journey. We have now reached our midway point in our climb up the spiritual Everest. It is wise to set up camp and reflect as to what we have accomplished in our ascent thus far, but also to carefully consider what is still left of our conquest. Let us recall that the apostle Peter has just taught us the importance of having self control. We have learned that being endowed with the understanding of God’s wisdom also means that he who receives such a blessing is tasked with a great responsibility; therefore, self control becomes much more relevant in our lives. Temperance, as our instructor puts it, is our resting point. It is the halfway point in our climb because it is here where we realize what exactly the apostle has been training us to do. The apostle Paul, in agreement with Peter’s strategy, explains to the Romans the necessity of having temperance so as to avoid falling into condemnation. He speaks directly to those men who felt the right to sit on the seat of a judge and execute their verdict without considering themselves first (Romans 2:1). The accusation being made by Paul is undeniably the same as the warning of Peter. When we “judge another” without looking at ourselves first we fall into the same trap that these men did. A trap that was easily overlooked because we were not able to grasp the purpose of the lessons. Observe that Paul states their self-condemnation is not because their judgment was wrong, but rather because they “practice the same things.” These “judges” were unrighteous because they were swift to speak but slow to hear (James 1:19). What the apostles Peter and Paul are teaching us is a very simple and effective lesson that revolves around having self control. In essence, the idea presented to us is the following: “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye” (Matthew 7:3)? This question asked by our Lord Jesus Christ on his sermon on the mount enlightens the purpose and the significance of temperance. It exhorts us to always be aware of ourselves so we may be able to help others. It is impossible to want to help others if we do not help ourselves first. This is similar to a doctor who is warning us of the dire effects of smoking on the human body with a lit cigarette on his lips. Let us make the observation that every level of this mountain leading us to this halfway point has to do with self-command. Faith, virtue, knowledge, and temperance are all actions that will help us in our personal growth. In our past articles, we were able to see that a man needs to have a creed to hold onto and a God to rely upon to be motivated to begin the journey. He then needs to muster the manly fortitude to put his body into motion and avoid stagnation. However, he must do so intelligently so that he will have a clear route of the direction he is headed in and not fall to his death. So that he may have the required endurance, he must climb at a steady pace and keep his mind focused on his task at hand. Notice how each one of the attributes Peter has pointed to so far are for our own benefit. His focus up to this point has been about our faith, our virtue, our knowledge, and our temperance. These are all areas that must be fortified independently. Do you recall the ten commandments? When Moses gave the Decalogue to the people of Israel, it was written on two tablets of stone (Exodus 31:18). This may seem of little relevance at first, but after close examination there is a profound meaning to this revelation. When the Ten Commandments are given to Moses, the first four commandments God dictates to Moses are all in accordance to His people’s personal relationship with Him (Exodus 20:1-11). The remaining six commandments are all focused on the relationship between the people as one united nation (Exodus 20:12-17). Hence the purpose of God giving Moses two tablets and not just one. Our King in His omniscience was showing His beloved people that a healthy, personal relationship of man with Him will lead into having a harmonious relationship amongst peers. In other words, one leads to the other. The apostle Peter, along with the apostle Paul, had this concept fully understood. To achieve a better world, temperance is essential. Man must be willing to accept his deficiencies with an attitude of wanting to change and mature in his personal life. Temperance, as we have already learned, is mastering not only the art of using God’s two edged sword but of having the self restraint to not use it irresponsibly. Therefore, Peter in all his wisdom establishes the first levels of this climb as areas that heavily depend on our own inner strength. Like the first set of commandments written on the first stone tablet, if we genuinely want to help our fellow peers reach the top with us, we must begin by making ourselves stronger, better climbers. The second set of instructions, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, all have to do with our relationship with others. Notice that the tone of the lesson is now our patience with our brother, our godliness before our brother, our kindness toward our brother, and our love for our brother. As we reflect about the road we have sojourned to reach this resting point, we too must begin to look ahead toward the rest of our journey. Now that we have learned to gain the necessary self discipline to guarantee that our resolve is not easily broken, let us not be selfish but rather teach others what we have learned. The writer to the Hebrews chastised his readers because it was past time that they “ought to be teachers” for those who had just begun their ascend up God’s mountain (Hebrews 5:12). However, because they still required “that one teach you again” they lacked the proper training to be able to train others to master themselves. Once again we see the impossibility of wanting to teach others what we have yet to fully comprehend. Temperance is our midway point because it not only relates to having total control of our inner man, but also because it allows us to channel that self control in the training of others. As we begin to gather our camping gear so we may continue upward to our eternal glory, Peter’s next word confirms that from this point forward it is about sharing your experience with the inexperienced so that together we may reach the peak to where our God awaits us with our crown. Therefore, let us gather that which we have attained and begin round two of our journey. To be continued…