H,
“There
is nothing else you need.”
In the most direct sense,
balance is an impediment to spiritual progress. It is not that there is no
wisdom in seeking balance or levity in living on this present earth, it is that
we do not have the right tools to do it correctly.
We may see balance as not getting
into a cult mentality or not giving our possessions to a charismatic preacher. All
that is well and good but it is based on how we approach the expectations of
men not how we seek the Kingdom of God. You should not be in the cult of man at
all and you should not give anything you do not decide in your heart to give,
knowing it is not an investment and God is not a money doubler. Yet, in both
instances God expects a higher commitment than the thing we are trying to seek
balance from: we are not to worship men or women but we are to love our
other-us (other people) fiercely. We are to give generously to the widow, the
orphan, the poor, the oppressed and those in need. It is not that the standard
is easier when look to God for balance. He puts us directly in the light of our
own actions and reveals to us the drastic need for real change in our own
lives.
Yet, the problem remains
that we do not go to Him when we are confused by modern life. We make deals. We
make pacts. We tell justified lies and become part of the system as if we can
change it from within. We are silent when we should speak and we speak up when
we should be silent. We plan, we plot, we scheme, we cheat and we call it all
for a good cause. We have embraced the balance that is really just sin.
On the other hand, our
balance might have a seeming righteousness to it. We might pull it off after
much study of the things that work and do not work. The rich man came to Christ
all balanced out in his life. Christ gave the ultimate blow against the
balanced life: give over everything and follow me. The rich man could not ascend
to this height. The great height of God cannot be scaled by those we seek to
balance everything out. They want flatland. He would have mountaintops.
There is something I am
trying not to say. I do not want to leave you with the impression that what the
world is lacking is unbalanced Christians. What the world is lacking is God. Not
our acts. There is a real sense in which He does not need us. We need Him. This
is about being a candle that cannot go out even in the windiest conditions. This
is about being that house on a hill. Many might see it but the house cannot
lead you to the house. Only the builder can.
The problem with seeking balance
is that we are ultimately holding back. We have an unconscious list of things
that God cannot touch in our lives or we will start feeling less. He is mindful
of this. He is not trying to take all our safety valves at once. But be rest
assured, He will eventually take them all. He is not being mean about it. He is
being immensely kind. He is saying, you have me, there is nothing else you need.
No comments:
Post a Comment