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 pleasures of  life  and  give  their  hearts  and  souls  to them,  and  fain  would  they  stem  the  steady  flow  of time  and  earthly  things,  so  anxious  are  they  to  enjoy them permanently,  so  reluctant  are  they  to  pass along to  God. Christ came  to  grapple  with  this evil, to  reveal  to  us  our  loving  Father,  alone  worthy of our  love,  to  show  us  that  for  us  there  is  no  treasure here  nor  permanent  abiding-place,  but  only  in the  kingdom  of  our  God. And when  by  His  example and  His  teaching  He  had  exposed  the  hollowness  of  earthly  things  and  weaned  men  from  them; when He  had  weeded  out  the  thorns  and  thistles from God's  field,  then  He  sowed  the  seeds  of  love — love of  God,  our  neighbors,  and  ourselves. " Thou shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,"  He  says,  "  with  all the  powers  of  thy  being,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." Or, as  St.  Paul  puts  it,  "Thou  shalt  live soberly,  justly,  and  godly  in  this  world." A sober life is  one  in  which  Nature's  law  of  self-love  is  kept by grace  from  becoming  inordinate. All creatures of God  are  for  our  use,  but  abuse  of  them  is  sinful, for moderation  must  be  exercised  in  everything  but love of  God. Sobriety, therefore,  is  an  even  balance between our  natural  inclinations  and  the  restrictions of God's  law,  and  in  this  golden  mean  consists  a  well-ordered  love  of  self. Earthly pleasures,  in  fact,  are to the  joys  of  heaven  what  an  appetizer  is  to  a  feast, and whosoever  indulges  too  freely  in  the  antepast  is thereby  rendered  incapable  of  enjoying  the  good things that  follow. The danger  here  is  not  that  our self-love will  fall  far  short  of  what  is  just,  but  rather