Temperance

A humpback whale releases air bubbles as it swims around a school of herring. The bubbles form a kind of fence through which the herring won’t swim. The whale dives and then zooms up into the center of the tightly corralled fish, and with open mouth captures one whale of a lunch. Still, even with an oversupply of food available, the whale won’t gorge itself. It consumes only what is needed for its sustenance, thus preventing the extinction of herring, but also maintaining a slim figure—slim, that is, for a whale!

Using a whale as a dieting model may seem a little bizarre, but, like most animals (except humans!) a whale eats from hunger, not from appetite. It would almost seem that the whale senses that its Creator will see to it that a food supply will always be available. Even pigs don’t “pig out,” as too many of us humans do when the restaurant servings are gargantuan. This built-in animal restraint, when practiced by humans, transcends a mere natural instinct; it becomes a virtue, temperance, one of the four cardinal virtues. It entails a Spirit-guided control that seeks not only to normalize food intake but also to avoid harmful substances like drugs, tobacco, and alcohol beyond moderation. Furthermore, it sets prudent restraints on entertainment, recreation, relaxation, and the like--all of which are proper in their rightful use. Aristotle named this virtue “eutrapelia”--a prudent practice of temperance.

Temperance should not be totally self-control; a substantial part of it must be God-control if it is to succeed and be constant. Paul didn’t say, “I can do all things.” He said, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). Without trusting in the Lord for “strength to be strong”--that is, strength to exert self-control consistently, you will soon be trusting only in yourself--a sure recipe for failure.

This excerpt is from the book Pathways of Trust, by John H. Hampsch,C.M.F., originally published by Servant Publications. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.