Balance– what even is the word? I ask this to you not in a mocking tone, but in genuine concern. What is balance?
Over my years as a lay minister, I’ve coached people from all walks of life. Some were overwhelmed students, trying to find equilibrium between acads and ministry. Some were older than me who just wanted their time with family to be fruitful and harmonious– an escape from the terrors of work.
Some just wanted God’s hand on everything. What I tell them almost always costs them something; it costs them obedience to God.
When God commands you something, it most likely would cost you something– a sacrifice. Your time, your efforts, your surrender– you laying something down before God. God’s hand on everything means your surrender of everything. And that should not just be in theory or in word, but in action– in execution.
When I was in my teens, I was heavy in acads. Having surrendered my life to Jesus and far away from home, my first priority became His commands. A close second were my studies.
Growing older, I was taught something different. We have to have a life outside work. And that family must be the close second, next to God.
I still view this to be true, as I still hold my family dear. Yet, what God has said to me just recently continues to stir up everything in me:
Genesis 12:1 (ESV)
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
What if the very stereotype people impose upon you is the very stereotype God wants to debunk? Family is very important in our culture, yet it may be within their confines where we get to idolize comfort, familiarity, and everything God wants us to move past from.
So, what is balance? I still ask that question, even until now. God knows that even with all the interconnectivity that this digital age has made possible, physical presence is still insurmountable.
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
All things work together for good. And balance- just as with any other term- is relative for everyone.
Have I found balance? Close to it. Yet, it is not for mere balance that I live, but for the cause of Christ.