Now is the time.... For Balance

On the seventh day, having finished his task, God rested from all his work. Genesis 2:2

Today I was watching a programme which featured a 13 year old girl who was playing sport every night of the week and on the weekends. Not only was she an excellent player but she was playing at university level, not high school level. She was asked if she ever had fun, to which she replied, “I have fun playing sport.” Hmmmm. Her grandmother was very concerned that her granddaughter’s life was not balanced and her concern was justified and validated by the host.

Today’s world seems to have spun right out of balance in so many ways. People have either forgotten how to truly take a rest, or, they are too lazy or unmotivated to get a job because their parents or the social welfare system gives them all they need. What happened to balance and work ethic? Personally I get equally concerned about people who work 7 days a week and never take time to rest as I do about those who refuse to get a job, but I want to address the former issue.

Work is good and the Bible affirms this when it says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 that if a man does not work then he should not eat. God appointed each to work because laziness is not healthy for us. But each of us also needs to know how to rest and relax.

As I have observed the lives of some families I just feel exhausted when I see the number of activities that they are involved in and the constant running around by “Mum’s taxi” that it takes to make it all happen. I am not against healthy activities but I think we need to ensure that a healthy balance of home life and socializing is achieved so that the family remains a place of stability and peace, a safe place to return to and a place where family meals are valued and important and relationships cemented.

It is often easy for Christians to be over-involved in church-based activities. I know because it happened to us many years ago. We lost the balance for a time and our Christian life became more about church attendance than about relationship with Jesus who, incidentally, gives us rest (Psalm 23:2). We need regular time to rest if we are to live a healthy, balanced life. We should not live life in a constant whirl of activity, flying in and out the door, passing each other as ships in the night, with never time to sit with the family and be a family. The day after I first wrote this piece a man on the radio, speaking on the same subject said, “Children deserve more that the leftovers of our time.” How true.

If keeping the family finances afloat requires you to overwork, then perhaps you need to reassess your needs and where the money goes. Or is work a convenient and ‘legitimate’ activity to keep you too busy to face uncomfortable issues? There may be other reasons why you may not have balance. Perhaps it is time to take stock; time to smell the flowers or enjoy the sunset God has painted for your refreshment.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please shine your light into my busy world and show me if I need to find more balance in my life. Amen