Does God Give a Rip...

about balance?

Last fall I started reading Contrarians Guide to Knowing God. Unfortunately, I put it down last fall, and forgot to pick it back up. Finally opened it up again, and decided to share some points that encouraged/challenged me.

Towards the end of the book Osborne presents a chapter on balanced living. Since my life seems on all fronts painfully out of balance, I figured I was in for it. Very quickly into the chapter I was reading points and thoughts very counter to what I expected to be reading (hints the title I suppose).

He begins by presenting examples of obvious imbalance in lives from key people in the Bible. Noah, Moses, Jeremiah, David, and even Paul all had areas of their life that could be challenged as being "out of balance." He says this notion is really more a reflection of American culture than Biblical example.

Of course, he's not saying this should be taken into extreme. Certainly we want to prevent imbalance in areas that can cause harm to ourselves or others. But let's be honest, results like that do not happen over night but over time. And this is the key (at least the key that I took from the chapter). When we're faced with competing priorities in life, my goal should not be complete balance, but focus on what God is calling me to in that moment on that day. The different callings God has for each of us call for a certain amount of sacrifice in other areas. The missionary overseas does not get the time with family others do. The mother of three may not have the time to do small groups and pour into someone one-on-one as someone else. Each calling typically comes with a bit of limitation.

He provides three questions we can ask ourselves when trying to assess where we're at in the spectrum of "balance."

1) What season is this?
"Life is not static." Examples he gave: the farmer during harvest, the mother of 3 children under 6, the person starting up a business. All three are examples of seasons that may come with serious "imbalance." As much as it is very much what God has called them to, it is temporary.

2) What does God want me to do today?
Each day comes with a specific call from God. For the college student who has to pass his/her finals, it might mean a few days of serious study. This may mean they can't make small group that week, family might be a bit neglected, but I believe God wants us to do well on that exam.

3) Is anything so out of balance that it is beginning to harm my health, relationships, or walk with God? Yeah, here's where it got me. Allow me to go ahead and insert some personal conviction and application. If I were to ask myself if any three (or even all 3) of those areas in my life were being seriously affected by my present "imbalance," what would my answer be? As I'm sitting in my bed with half a voice left from the looooong volleyball tournament I coached, the inability to meet with a friend who needs to talk because I have to work today, and the fact I'm blogging instead of spending some alone time with God, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say I know my answer.

Well, they say knowing is half the battle, right? Now time to readjust and figure out how to get some things in check. Any of you with suggestions, please feel free. Just be nice...please.