Wine and Money: The mature believer is “not addicted to wine.” God created all things for good, but they were never meant to control us and be our master (1 Tim. 4:3-4; 6:17). Wine is just one of many things that can enslave us. When good things become controlling things, they become God-things, and this disorders our affections and worship. We were made to worship the Lord our God and serve Him only (Matt. 4:10), never to be “mastered by anything” else (1 Cor. 6:12-13; 2 Pet. 2:19). This is especially true of money. We are to be “free from the love” of it. To want to get rich is to love money (1 Tim. 6:9-10). The antidote to this spiritual snare is to love God (Matt. 6:24) and to find our contentment in Him (Phil. 4:11-13; 1 Tim. 6:6-8). We must remember that all things belong to the Lord (Ps. 24:1) and whatever we possess we have as a loaner. We can live unensnared if we see ourselves as tenants in God’s land (Lev. 25:23), using His things toward His ends (Matt. 25:14; Rom. 11:36).

Conflicts: The mature believer is “not pugnacious, but gentle.” He does not resort to violence (physical or verbal), but operates with a sweet reasonableness. He is a man who can always be reasoned with, and he always makes room for calm and rational dialogue. But the man of God is not spineless. He has a spine of steel, but he never uses that strength for harm. His strength is power under control to do good (Prov. 12:18). Even with the contentious, he shows himself “peaceable.” He does not quarrel (2 Tim. 2:24). He remains a stalwart defender of the truth (Tit. 1:9), and he never conflates this holy aim with his own ego (Prov. 13:10; 26:12). He insists God is right, never that he is right. Like his Master, he seeks God’s glory, not his own (John 7:18).