Temperance and Self-Control

Temperance, also called self-control, is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:23) and describes the capacity to moderate one's desires, impulses, and appetites according to the will of God. It is not forced repression or barren denial, but an inward freedom that enables a person to choose what is good and to reject what is harmful. The Greek word Paul uses, enkrateia, evokes the strength of one who governs himself rather than being governed by his passions. Paul illustrates this virtue with the image of the athlete: "every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things" (1 Corinthians 9:25). Self-control is thus a spiritual training that demands discipline but produces true freedom. Far from an extreme asceticism, biblical temperance consists in a wise moderation: eating without gluttony, drinking soberly, speaking with prudence, loving without possessiveness. Peter links this virtue to faith, virtue, and knowledge, as so many rungs of Christian character: "add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience" (2 Peter 1:5-6). Temperance grows as the believer walks by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23), practices spiritual disciplines such as fasting, and submits to the Spirit's leading rather than gratifying the flesh. Even Felix trembled when Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come (Acts 24:25). Prayer and meditation on the Word strengthen this mastery and make it lasting.