Balance, the Essence of Life

Dear Trekker,

Most of us take for granted the need for “balance” in one’s life. We weigh the pros and cons of everything, instinctively. It’s called “reasoning”, a God-given gift peculiar to humans.

So you can imagine my amazement when I was challenged by a listener some years ago after a speaking engagement to “show me where the Bible teaches balance.” I was somewhat dumbfounded… like “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” Some things are a given, are they not? The essence of life is balance; the Bible is surely the “Book of Balance.”

But it caused me to ponder the concept of balance then, and some of those thoughts seem to erupt from time to time when egregious examples of imbalance reap their harvest. So I thought I would share some of these with you, my trekker friends.

Our life styles continue at a fast pace in the 21st century. So many things to do and never enough time to do them. We often become workaholics, playaholics, or alcoholics, to escape it all. Relationships founder because we never have time for each other. We are accidents going somewhere to happen. (e.g. the governor of New York “fell” and resigned this week.)

There has been quite a movement by some in the last generation to simplify lifestyles. Pastors, counselors and life coaches encourage it. And at the heart of simplicity is balance. Until our “sweet spot” is found in life, like in a golf swing, we don’t score well. We are in and out of balance. Ever try to correct a wobbly fan? It isn’t easy with physical things, and a quick fix for being “out of kilter” in life equally eludes us. We sweat up a storm in the gym, and never darken a church. Or we smile and sit fat in the pew, and choose not to run to the fitness center.

First, trekkers, balance only comes through Christ. We must be still and know that He, Jesus of Nazareth, is God. We must “center down”, focus on Him, and change habits. Then balance results as a healthy by-product of an ordered, proportioned life.

Recently I was speaking to the European youth ministry staff team I lead about the “book ends” of life. My text was Mark’s Gospel, Ch 6:30-46. If anyone faced the pressure of a balanced life, it was the Son of Man, Jesus. Whenever we are effective in what we do well, we will attract followers. Leaders are those of us who attract others. The better and more we do, the more people demand our time and energies. It can be a downward spiral; it can get us “off-track”, leading to fatigue, possible burn-out, depression or self-destructive behaviors. There will always be more work in God’s or man’s kingdom than we can ever accomplish! So what did Jesus do? He maintained balance! Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat (not good), he said to them (his disciples), “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” But they were followed by the masses, and the feeding of the 5,000 ensued. After all were fed, and the scraps were collected, (balance your miracles with the practicalities of life, trekker), Jesus sent the disciples ahead, dismissed the crowd, and “went up on a mountainside to pray.” All effective ministry is balanced between the bookends of quiet withdrawal, reflective meditation and relentless recuperating prayer. If Jesus balanced his ministry life to and for others with his own personal needs, can we do less?

The first thought that came to my mind when I was challenged to “show me where the Bible teaches balance” was not Mark 6 above, but the old reliable “in the world but not of it.” Actually this phrase, as such, is not found in Scripture. It is most likely a positive extrapolation of two statements by the Apostle John, one in his gospel that quotes Jesus as telling his disciples the night before he was betrayed, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” John 15:19. The second is from John’s first letter, Chapter 2:15, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” “In the world but not of it” can be almost trite and a cliché. But whatever it is or isn’t, it calls for balance between being “in it”, yet “not of it.” We must be invested in living out our faith in the world as much as we must know our eternal destiny lies far beyond it. If we are not invested in the world, we will never see “thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” and it is hardly a prayer as we say it, but wishful thinking at best, and sacrilege at its worst.

Balance… what a word to conjure! Can we be so heavenly minded we are of no earthly good? Can we be so into the Gospel of grace that we have no time for the social aspect of good works? Can life really be so parsed that I worship on Sundays and sow wild oats throughout the week? Life gets “out of whack” when it’s out of balance. If we are to achieve, we must first receive the gift of grace to understand the necessity of balance, and then strive to thrive upon it. But we have to weigh in on specific issues in our lives if we are to ride the waves of life. Needs and yearnings must be balanced. Emotional and practical needs must be balanced. There must be a fulcrum to maintain balance. That fulcrum can only be a dynamic relationship with Jesus and the delight of doing things “God’s way”.

I believe maturity and balance are two facets of noble character. Surely balance is the ability to be unaffected by any external happenings and be at peace. Surely balance is simply life between the extremes! In the end, trekker, the price of balance is what we are willing to exchange for it!

Let’s keep our balance. It’s pretty hard to scale the heights if we cannot maintain our balance. So whatever it takes today, let’s regain our balance, pay the price and keep climbing. See you at the top! And never forget… it’s always too soon to quit.

Your friendly trekker buddy,

Jim Meredith