Balance, Beloved! (Part I)

Scripture:  Ecclesiastes 3:1 - For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..

The entire book of Ecclesiastes commends the wisdom of leading a balanced life.  Balance is to our daily lives what a thermostat is to a room.  Just as the one regulates the temperature in a certain space, so balance, or “margin,” in our lives regulates the level or pace of activity in our days.  When our lives get out of balance, we easily lose our focus, often succumbing to stress, irritability, or even varying degrees of depression!  Remember those sisters, Mary and Martha, from Luke 10:38-42?  Our Lord quelled Martha’s complaint about Mary’s preference for savoring His presence over nonstop busyness, by remarking, ‘Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’

Consider this!  Many employers today offer “stress leave,” because of the tendency of some to become so compulsive in performing their duties that their mental and physical health are jeopardized!  Those in Christian ministry are not exempted from lives that are out of balance and the ensuing stress.  Several years ago, I recall how some people ridiculed others whom they viewed as more zealous than most by ascribing to their speech such comments as, ‘Oh, I’m just goin’ to burn out for Jesus!!’  (I’ve yet to see that precept in the Bible). The Spirit is not commending “burnout” in any life area, but rather an earnest recognition of priorities!  God highly esteems enjoying one’s work; He calls them gifts from His hand, and yet the question of balance is reasserted:  “..who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” (Eccles. 2:24; 3:12)

Work is a very beneficial thing, but the moment it is elevated to a place of one’s highest and all-consuming dedication, we’ve have made it an idol.  

Prayer:  Dear Lord, we confess that too often we allow ourselves to obsess over temporal pursuits—calling them necessary, even though they easily lead us to being frequently stressed and overly-fatigued.  Help us to resist yielding to “the tyranny of the urgent,” because You, Abba, have called Your people to peace. Amen.

(by Denise Diggs)