Just as there is a vast difference between how sprinters and long distance runners run races, there is a difference between how different people live their lives. All of us have had the experience of having that friend who is exceptionally fun to be with when he is on top of the world and everything is going well for him. But you never know from day to day if he will be on the mountaintop of life or in the cellar of depression.   If we are honest with ourselves, we would all rather have a relationship with that friend who might not have quite as high a level of energy, but who we can count on to be a steady and reliable presence in our lives.

In the church world there is a particular phrase that describes what some visiting preachers do to a congregation: they "blow in, blow up and blow out" many times getting people whipped into an emotional frenzy, creating an atmosphere of what is often referred to as "crazy faith" where people will give more money in an offering than their personal budgets can support. The only thing "created" is a mess which the local pastor then has to deal with after the visiting preacher is long gone to the next city.

In the game of life, slow and steady wins the race and moderation and temperance in all things is the key.   This is not only true in spiritual matters, but in practical ones as well. For instance, we don't need to eat too many foods with high fat and sugar content. But neither is it healthy to eat only grass and granola! We shouldn't spend every penny we make, but neither should we save it all. Nobody wants to be around a perennial joker who is never serious about anything. But people who are so sober and contemplative that they never allow any silliness in their lives are not attractive to others either. And exercising so much and so hard that you blow your knees out by age 40 can be just as debilitating as sitting on the couch every day with no physical exercise.

If someone is going to invest in you, they want to know that you are steady. Learn to move at a moderate and temperate pace. Don't be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good.