Exodus 30:25 “And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.”

In Galatians 5:23, many new versions of the Bible change the word “temperance” to “self control”.

If you read Galatians 5:23 and the surrounding verses for yourself, you will find that this scripture is talking about the fruit of the Holy Spirit… and I’ve always found it strange that people don’t think hey, what’s that word “self” doing in there if this is what the Holy Spirit works and produces in the life of a believer!?

If “you” are controlling “you”, then that’s not the Holy Spirit! … Temperance is a totally different word and meaning to self control.

People who cook know what “tempering” is, when they temper chocolate, they slowly heat up and cool down the chocolate “so that the fat molecules crystallise evenly, resulting in a smooth, shiny finish when the chocolate sets.”

One thing I’ve sure noticed in my Christian life is that all of us as Christians struggle with the right ratios and balance in our lives. We all have rough edges and things God needs to and will change in our hearts and lives!

Some Christians are all this, and others are all that, and all the denominations and sects of Christianity spring out of different emphasis or weightings on scripture… lack of balance and getting the ratios out of whack.

I’ve also found out in my life that I personally can be terribly out of balance, and my ratios can be all wrong, which is bad, because Godly ratios and Godly balance is so important in the Christian life.

I’ve found I can be all this or all that, and my control of “self” has always ended in failure, and I’ve found it’s quite tiring as well as futile to attempt to do so.

But temperance is something totally different, it’s something the Holy Spirit does in our lives as we go through the hot and cold … as God uses all the different situations and circumstances of life to produce just the right balance in our lives.

God can balance us because all of God’s attributes are in perfect balance, after all he is holy, righteous, just… but he is also merciful, gracious, loving… and many other things, yet all at the same time and in perfect harmony.

This is how this … Psalm 85:10 “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” … is possible!

So the answer isn’t in ourselves and summoning greater control of self, we need the Holy Spirit to produce the right balance, because we cannot strike the balance with God for starters… or in our own selves either… without him.

In the Old Testament there was a special ointment used for anointing the priests and the people who God had set apart to serve him… and the composition of the “compound” was VERY specific and had just the right ratios of ingredients. People weren’t allowed to mimic it, recreate it, alter it or substitute for it.

When we get saved, we receive this same anointing in a spiritual sense like they were physically anointed in the Old Testament (1 John 2:27)… so may God give us all the right ratios and balance in our life through his Holy Spirit!

After all… Proverbs 16:11 “A just weight and balance are the LORD’S: all the weights of the bag are his work.”

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