Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Balance”
Our Bible verse for today: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and that you will not be dependent on anybody.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Remember, it is balance we’re seeking.”
If you have been following along with these daily devotionals for a while, maybe even trying to connect the dots between last month’s theme of “Living with no excuses” and this month’s theme of “balance”, you could be confused. It could seem as if I’m urging you to both get moving and to slow down – to get busy and do something, and to stop doing so much. Well, the answer is “it depends.”
It’s important that each of us honestly assess who we are and what we are like. We need to be honest about how we’re living and whether or not we’re trying to do too much or not enough. Most of us do fall into one of those two categories and often both categories at the same time. Sometimes we’re very diligent in one area, almost compulsive, but then we’re neglecting another area of life. If so, it means you need better balance. You need to stop making excuses for doing too much of one thing and too little of another.
This is especially true when it comes to jobs and careers (which is why I chose 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 as our verse for today). Many of us work so long and so hard that we overwork. That then leads to serious imbalance in other important areas of life like relationships and health. The Japanese actually have a word for this. They call it “Karoshi”. “Karoshi” means “death from overwork”. It’s a major problem in their society, just as it is in ours. People work so hard for so long and under so much pressure that it damages relationships with spouse, children, and friends, and there is also little time or energy left for exercise, good nutrition, and adequate sleep. They’re working themselves to death.
With respect to work, we sometimes need to recalibrate our thinking and back it down a bit. No job is worth your health, your marriage, or your relationship with your children. It’s much better to have a simple job with good balance in the rest of your life, than an all-consuming career that’s sucking the life out of your life.
Work is often the most common cause of imbalance but it’s not the only one. It’s crucial for each of us to be honest with ourselves about where we’re at in this balance equation and whether we need to crank it up a bit in one area, or perhaps back it down somewhere else. Remember, it is good balance we need and are seeking.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 