Providence Baptist Church - Monthly Magazine

Shepherd's Staff by David Horner

A Balanced Life in Christ
We live in an age of specialization. In medicine and sports, in academics and business, and in just about any other aspect of life, generalists are rare and specialists are the norm.

But in our spiritual lives, we find that we cannot settle for specialization in our walk with Christ. Of course it is true that we have specific spiritual gifts and are called to specific ministries, but when we try to focus our obedience on specialized areas of the Christian life, we quickly realize that we have strayed from the path of true discipleship.

For many Christians, life tends to get out of balance far more than it should. Somehow it has become acceptable among certain segments of the Christian community to forsake responsibility in some areas of our walk with Christ to be radically faithful in other areas. Historically, we have seen that happen as certain sects have withdrawn from the world to live in isolation in a monastic environment, or take up the life of a hermit in order to develop the inner life with God. In doing so, they may indeed become proficient in prayer and fasting, study and contemplation, and many other disciplines that can be practiced in solitude. However, they forfeit any chance to model the love of Christ in their relationships with others—because they have none. They ignore His commands to proclaim the Gospel to others— because they avoid people! They succeed in some areas but at the expense of calculated failure in others.

How then is God glorified in us when we are exceptionally faithful in some areas and willingly unfaithful in others? This kind of imbalance is not only allowed to exist in some circles, but actually applauded and recommended. Seldom is the imbalance viewed as a compromise of biblical discipleship, but what else can we call a way of life that picks and chooses what part of God’s will to live by?

By now you may be saying that you are certainly glad you never bought into the life of a hermit scenario. Well, that extreme example serves to point out that all of us can be declared guilty on other slights to the overall plan of the Lord for our lives. We would perhaps like to specialize in our Christian life and be really good at something, even if it means letting other things go. In the modern church, where does that happen? Let me point out a few examples.

The devoted church member who never misses a Bible study or church meeting stands out as a committed Christian in the view of most people. But are they viewed that way at home if they neglect their families in order to be at all those meetings? Is it any wonder that some families resent the church because it takes a mother or father, husband or wife, out of their place in the home? Instead of fulfilling their biblical responsibilities in the home, they figure that if they are really committed at church it will eventually all balance out. Believe me, it does not. We should be asking a simple question—does God expect me to be super-obedient in one area so that I can be disobedient in another? Of course not!

Another example hits closer to home for me as a pastor. There are many ministry families suffering from neglect from the heads of their households who are so absorbed in their church work. Families pay a high price for their success. This has been such a concern of mine over the years that I wrote a book about balance for people in ministry. It is very easy to get off balance in a variety of areas, and pastors are clearly no exception. In my book I identified seven areas of imbalance most pastors face, many which are likely challenges to every Christian. Of particular interest to anyone would be the challenges to remain humble in our walk with Christ, to handle hard times and failure in a Christ-like manner, to recover from periods of spiritual dryness and to face periods of change and transition with a willing spirit. Each of these can throw us out of balance and cause us to try to compensate for our deficiencies in these areas by trying to do really well in other areas. In putting these thoughts in print, it is my hope to help those in ministry find spiritual balance and maintain their biblical equilibrium.

For each of us, following Christ presents us with many choices. Where we put our emphasis can often produce good results, but we have to be careful and thoughtful to prevent the natural digression that can develop.

Christ calls us to glorify Him in all things, not just in the specialty areas we like. So we must embrace the calling to live a balanced life in Christ, paying close attention to ourselves, to our doctrine, to our areas of particular interest as well as the areas of greatest weakness. It is a good thing to take inventory occasionally to see if you are missing something, and determine if God has commanded something that you are neglecting.

Being really faithful to one thing cannot make up for being unfaithful in another. I am so thankful to follow a Savior who cares about each aspect of my life and ministry. What a privilege to live in a balanced approach that values the general even while specializing on the particulars of all that God has called us to be and do. Pray that the Lord will allow this new book to encourage many!

signature

Return to Monthly Magazine

back to top