Balance

Balance - it's just a word, but it has a lot of meaning.

If you're not balanced physically, a lot of bad stuff can happen. You have a hard time walking; even standing. A lack of balance makes it challenging to work, to play, to do almost anything. In fact, it can be quite dangerous. Imagine trying to cross a busy street when you're having trouble with your balance.

I think that there are even greater problems when there's a lack of balance in other areas of your life. There are some who seem to be determined to take huge risks with their finances, for example, on a regular basis. There's nothing wrong with a calculated risk - but recklessness most often leads to ruin. Learning balance enables you to maintain a certain level of stability while remaining open to opportunity when it presents itself.

Another area where the lack of balance can have serious repercussions is in the spiritual realm. I have seen many in spiritual leadership who have jumped on the bandwagon of every trend that came along, to the detriment of themselves and also those who follow.

This is, I believe, part of the purpose for the inclusion of Ephesians 4:11-16 in Scripture: 

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

The world is full of ideas, many of them conflicting. There's a growing trend to hold two contradictory opinions and assume that both of them can be true. That is logically inconsistent - not to mention that it breaks the law of non-contradiction. I've met many who have nowhere to stand philosophically because they have no basis for what they believe. They've simply collected random ideas that they've heard about and mixed them together, pulling out which ever one seems appropriate at the time.

In contrast to this trend towards "whatever," Jesus still speaks clearly. In Matthew 7:24-29, Jesus wraps up His famous "Sermon on the Mount" with the startling claim that whoever heard what He said and failed to put it into practice would ultimately find ruin; yet those who obeyed His teachings would stand the test of time. These verses speak of foundation, of finding balance.

Throughout Scripture we find references to God's way, His path, His truth. Here is where we find stability. Archimedes once said, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the world." Looking back through history, we find countless men and women who have changed the world by standing on the firm place that is the Word of God. 


How balanced is your faith? Are you standing on the shaky ground of opinion or the rock solid that is God's revealed Word?


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