How To Live A Balanced Life
A phrase that has become very popular in recent years is “work-life balance”. It has because so many people feel overwhelmed. They feel as if their lives are out of control, and everything is in chaos. People are looking for an answer – how do I take care of myself, love my family, work a job, and still have time for everything else? How can I bring all this chaos into balance? It’s an important question. But that leads to another question – what exactly do you mean by a balanced life? You must clarify what you mean because there are a gazillion different ways of approaching this question. Some people may look at it as simply a time-management question. Other people look at it as a productivity question. Still, other people look at it as a stress question. And there are many other perspectives of answering this question.
The best approach, however, is – how can I balance my life in a way that honors and glorifies God? Because, after all, isn’t that the goal, that our lives would magnify God? If your only goal in balancing your life is to try and eliminate some of the chaos, or if it is simply to be more productive – that’s not necessarily a God honoring approach, and you will find yourself still frustrated and unfulfilled.
Balance, in itself, does not bring fulfillment to your life. However, a God-honoring balance is what will allow you to live a productive and fulfilled life that glorifies God. It turns out, the Bible has something to say about the way we manage our time. Paul wrote to the Ephesians (5:15-16 NLT), “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”
Let’s look at two points from Paul’s admonition: number one, live like the wise; and number two, make the most of every opportunity.
Number one: LIVE LIKE THE WISE.
How do we live like the wise? Answer, discover why we exist and live that out to its fullest. We don’t just live, we live with purpose.
Jesus, in the Gospels, repeats His life purpose seventeen times. For example, in Luke 19:10 (NLT) He says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” He knew why He was on this planet, and He lived it out. In the same way, we must discover our personal life purpose and live it out to the best.”
What is your life purpose? Why are you here? Is it to be a great parent who brings up God blessed children? Is it to build tremendous wealth so you can provide a trust fund for your family? Is it to be a great teacher so you can help others improve their lives? Remember, you are unique, God created you with a unique purpose. Like Jesus, you should know your purpose and you should continually revisit it to make sure you are living in it.
How does my life purpose intersect with me living a balanced life? If you don’t know why you are alive, then you won’t know how to answer so many of the questions that come at you every day. But, if you know your “why”, then you will also have a guide that will help you make both small and big decisions that affect the balance of your life. For example, having a clear life purpose will make it easier to say “no” to some things to which I actually would like to say “yes”.
Consider the words of the prophet Haggai (1:5-9 NLT). “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes! “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the LORD. You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses.”
God had given these Israelites a very clear purpose. They were to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. That doesn’t really sound like a life purpose, but you must see the bigger picture – they were given the responsibility of reestablishing the faith of Israel. It was so much more than just a building; it was the beginning of a spiritual revolution. However, fifteen years had passed and hardly any progress had been made because the people were preoccupied with building their own homes. Notice what is happening here, in neglecting the House of God and focusing on their own house, they had brought chaos into their lives. It wasn’t that the Israelites weren’t working – it’s just they were putting their energy in the wrong things.
The first key to living a “balanced life” is to wisely align yourself and your priorities with God’s will for your life. Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT). To be sure, this will look different for every believer because God has given each of us unique talents and opportunities to carry out His will in different ways. Remember, your life purpose will line up with how God designed you. If you try life in any other way, your balance will not be a fruitful and fulfilling balance. Nevertheless, if you know your life purpose and you live for that purpose you will be able to develop a life balance that honors God.
Number two: LIVE IN THE OPPORTUNITY.
Remember, Ephesians 2:16 says that we are to make the most of every opportunity. That command, however, was given in the context of living like the wise. In other words, make the most of every opportunity to live out your life purpose in a way that will glorify God.
Here are a few practical examples:
If you’re a young newlywed there are some things that can only be enjoyed in that time of life. The honeymoon won’t last forever. So, build a beautiful marriage, make the most of every opportunity to enjoy life, and in doing so glorify God. If you are the parent of a newborn baby, there are some things that can only be enjoyed in that time of life. In just eighteen summers she will be gone. Therefore, choose to fulfill your life purpose in those moments.
Your family is a gift from God – therefore how you treat your family affects God’s feelings toward you. If you are so out of balance toward your work life that you fail to live in the opportunity that you have with your family – part of the frustration you feel is God’s displeasure with your life. Quality family time is spiritual. Therefore, when you invest in your family you are honoring God.
Here’s one more opportunity in which you need to live – church honors God! Church is God’s idea and when we ignore it, we are essentially ignoring God. On the other hand, being a part of and participating in church is God honoring. If you are trying to balance your life by skipping church, you are missing an opportunity and you are bringing chaos into your life. Remember Haggai’s prophecy, you cannot build your own home and neglect God’s house and expect everything to be okay.
A wise person knows their life purpose and they make the most of every opportunity to live it out. “I was happy when they said, ‘It’s time to go to church’” (Psalm 122:1, my own translation).
Number three: LEARN TO HAVE FUN
Another part of a balanced life is knowing how to have fun. A lot of us think of Jesus as someone who was always serious and probably boring. But the Bible says that children wanted to be around Him. Kids don’t want to hang around boring, they run away from boring. The fact that children wanted to be around Jesus means that he was very interesting, and probably a lot of fun.
According to Jesus’ own words, one of the reasons the religious rulers did not like Him was because He was enjoying life. Luke 7:34 (NLT) says, “The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’” The Pharisees, Sadducees, and all the other religious rulers wanted Him to be super serious. Because – as the thought goes – if you are not super serious, then are you truly focusing on what God wants you to focus?
Solomon, when writing Ecclesiastes, wrote about the difficulties of life. Here’s his advice: Ecclesiastes 8:15 NLT, “So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.”
During the Civil war, Abraham Lincoln was criticized for getting his leadership team together for a time of fun. He was criticized because there was a serious war going on. Here was Lincoln’s response, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength” (Proverbs 17:22 NLT).
Sociologists performed a ten-year study on the effects of fun in the business place. Here’s their discovery: businesses that intentionally create opportunities for their employees to have fun are more productive than the business that are always serious. A balanced life is a fun life.
Number four: LEAVE SOME THINGS UNDONE
Another element to a balanced life is to learn to leave some things undone. Consider Jesus’s action when pressed by the crowd.
Mark 1:32-38 (ESV), “That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ And he said to them, ‘Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.’”
They came to Jesus and said, “Everyone is looking for you.” Jesus answered, “Let’s go to the next town.” All the people who were looking for Jesus – they wanted Him to perform a miracle for them. They were hoping He would meet their needs. But He just left. He was NOT trying to be cruel. But He was staying focused on what was most important – His mission!
Here’s another problem, Jesus was the only person who could do the miracles. In other words, He literally couldn’t leave and say, “Somebody else will take care of it.” If the miracles were going to happen, He was going to have to do them. Yet, He still left. Here’s why it is important to notice that He left with some things undone, sometimes we think we must do something because nobody else can do it. And you may be right, no one else can do it. But that doesn't mean you have to do it. Just like Jesus walked away and left some things undone that no one else could do, you also will have times in your life where you need to walk away leaving things undone – even when there may be no one else.
If you are out of balance because you are trying to get everything done – ask yourself, “What am I doing that can be left undone?”
FOUR KEYS TO A BALANCED LIFE THAT HONORS GOD
Define your purpose and values
Live in the opportunity
Learn to have some fun
Leave some things undone