AVOID EXTREMES 

On October 24^th, 1901, Annie Taylor became the first person to survive the Niagara Falls after cramming herself into a barrel stuffed with a mattress. She escaped with only bruises and a gash to her forehead. She had hoped to become rich from her stunt, and she did make some money from the publicity generated. However the interest soon waned, her manager ran off with her barrel and all her savings were used to hire detectives to trace the barrel. She eventually died in poverty.

Annie Taylor took a huge risk- gambling with her life, but survived only to be disappointed. Risks are present everywhere in life. A person who takes no risks will make no progress, but Solomon advises in Ecclesiastes to avoid extremes.

Do not be overrighteous,neither be overwise- why destroy yourself?
Do not be overwicked,and do not be a fool- why die before your time?
It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other.
Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.(Ecclesiastes 7:16-18)

Extreme sports are a category of sports where the risks are much higher than usual and fatalities are more common. These include bungee jumping, base jumping, ice climbing, big wave surfing and so on. People participate in these for the adrenaline rush, the thrill, the photo opportunity and so on, but would any of these make sense if the outcome were death?

When people invest in business opportunities, we do hear of the success stories where everything was placed on the line and a good outcome resulted, but more often people end up losing all because they took much risk in a venture that they blindly believed in.

Even one who follows Christ can end up being too simple and get hung up on what he has been taught by men rather than opening oneself up to the word of God. And so in the early church, Christians were rebuked by the apostles for extreme teachings like insisting on circumcision for the new believers and prohibiting food sacrificed to idols. Even today, we see believers blindly chasing prosperity and avoiding contemporary medicine, in the guise of applying faith. There are others who rigidly prescribe lifestyles and manner of service, in the process ignoring the freedom one has in Christ.

Why should all extremes be avoided? Because, man is finite and does not have complete understanding. An extreme viewpoint does not respect man’s finiteness and in fact rebels against the knowledge of God. Wisdom that originates from God brings moderation to all things in life. Applying faith does not give license to espousing extremes, rather should be seen as a journey of increasingly knowing God better and living in partnership with Him.

A rubber band brings utility only when stretched, but overstretching it breaks and ruins it. Risk is meant to be taken, but extremes are to be avoided. And in Solomon’s words, it is the fear of God that brings wisdom to take legitimate risks but avoid extremes.

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