My first recollection of learning to balance came courtesy of Karl Wallenda walking across Tallulah Gorge in 1970. I had been to the edge of the gorge numerous times and gazed across the 1250 foot expanse with a 750 foot drop. Someone who tries to balance such a feat on a 2 inch wide cable is referred to as a high wire artist and a daredevil. We called the Great Wallenda flat out crazy. The biggest question we asked each other was pretty simple, “Why even try to do it?” The same question is applicable in trying to balance our lives in 2017.
Balance is a state of equilibrium where there is an equal distribution. Balance no longer makes me think about Wallenda. Today balance is more an act of diversification and time management. The world is obsessed with diversifying in the name of reducing risk and maximizing return. Jesus applied the concept of diversification, risk and reward to the Kingdom of Heaven. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Matthew 13:44. In simple terms, when you find what is valuable, don’t balance it with anything else. Go all in.
A key takeaway is having wisdom and discernment to recognize value. The clock is ticking while we try to balance a lifetime of activities at the risk of losing eternity. Christ destroyed the concept of balance in another parable. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:45. God didn’t try to balance anything but paid the ultimate price. The object of OUR balance can be misplaced. We need to stop trying to balance our time at the expense of our souls. The application in our day to day might dictate a few changes.
Everyone is trying to balance their physical, spiritual and mental lives. The list is exhausting. Social life, time with the wife and kids, time for me, a job that demands more hours each year, e-mails and texts, instant messages, social media, old friends, new friends, working out, hobbies, time to relax, prayer and meditation, reading and study, contemplative prayer, corporate worship, small group fellowship, accountability partners. “Why even try to do it?” Too much balance can take away true reward. Where IS your reward?
When times get hard, when things crash, when the tide pulls back, it’s easier to see what is valuable. After the stock market crash in 1987, Warren Buffet started buying Coca-Cola stock. Buffet’s purchase marked a departure from his previous protocol. Buffet accumulated more than $1 billion worth of stock that represented 25% of the total value of his company. I heard him interviewed one day and he was questioned why he was making such a large investment. The response has been lost in the clutter over the years. Warren said it plainly, “Diversification is for the dumb.” He went on to exclaim why he shouldn’t try to find more investments (balance) when Coke represented such an opportunity. Coke was not a cheap stock and Warren paid relatively more for this company than he had ever paid for an investment. It might have been the first and only time Warren and Christ preached the same sermon.
How we try to balance our time and activities shows where our heart and mind are focused. Christians know where that balance should be. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3. Trying to balance too many things is trying to live ‘your best life now.’ We are dead to this world but are trying to balance life with death. This is impossible folks.
In the game of poker you can go all in. Christ followers don’t have a choice. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33. It’s a promise that we don’t have to balance the pursuits of our heart. We serve a God who actually commands us NOT to balance Him with anything. What part of “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind” speaks to balance?
We mistakenly focus too much on balancing the hours of the day and don’t realize by doing so we are balancing the world with God. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” 1st John 2:15. There is no room to balance love for God with anything. Our time is one of our true treasures. Our treasure shows where our heart is. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21. Does your balance reveal your treasure?
Balance is not a hopeless endeavor but the way we try to juggle our lives is wrong. Check your actions with your words. How we try to balance our time is a way to check our hearts. “All these things” will be added to us if we make sure balancing life comes AFTER we go all in with Him in our hearts.
Your best life is not supposed to be here and now. That is flat out crazy. It’s the same high wire act as Karl Wallenda. “Why even try to do it?”