Balanced Life
We all want it. A balanced life. Everything in the right proportion. Work, play, family, God, money, private, public, etc. We look at friends, relatives, TV and Facebook to find the people that can do it so we can copy them and finally get the balanced life. We know if we can find balance it will bring happiness, security, wealth and envy. The perception is that a balanced life is perfection.
At times it almost seems like the universe has conspired against us when it comes to finding balance. Each segment of our lives have to be balanced before we can balance the whole thing. Like balancing a stick we have to know a few things before try. First we have to know the center of gravity. It’s the first law of balance. If the stick is straight the center of gravity is the center but life is anything but straight. There are always humps lumps and twist. Constantly changing, growing being pruned it almost defies being balanced.
When we try to balance a crooked stick we have to know where to look or what to focus on. We call it the focal point. It’s the second law of balance. If we aren’t watching the right thing we won’t know if we are balanced. Somethings need to balance as far to the left or right as they can go without falling. Others need to be dead center. A carpenter might be happy if the shelf he installed looks straight. The machinist is horrified if the part he made is a human hair (.004”) bigger on one end. It’s all in the focal point.
When it comes to balancing life it will be dynamic rather than static balancing. This means as life changes the balance point moves. It’s the third law of balance. Balance requires constant correction. If you are old enough to read this you already know it is true. Whether it is job, money, family or health it will be changing. You must adapt to change in circumstances or you will be changed by circumstances. It requires constant corrections in the balance point to stay in balance.
If we are balancing a simple stick we are subject to the law of Pinocchio. You remember the story. If he told a lie his nose grew. It didn’t grow the next year but right then. When consequences are immediate we make corrections immediately. Sort of like the dog with a shock collar.
So what happens when we let life get out of balance? Nothing! Or at least nothing immediately. We don’t live by the law of Pinocchio, we live by the law of the harvest. We reap what we sow but not immediately. The law of the harvest is you reap later and greater. A farmer plants one seed and hopes to reap 1000 seeds next year. Our success and failures show up just like the farmers, later and greater, good or bad.
The law of the Harvest is dangerous. It gives us the illusion that maybe we won’t suffer consequences for foolish deeds. Maybe what we did will slip by unremembered and we will be fine. But the Bible says God will not be mocked, we will reap what we sow.
One of our most important areas of life that we have to balance is our finances. Finances have a way of affecting so many areas of our life. Most of us work 5 days so we can live better for 2. If money is going to be that important we need to be knowing where our money is going!
I have an advantage over a preacher when it comes to talking about money. Most say “Oh no, it’s time for the tithing sermon”. As a layman I don’t have to worry about my income from the collection but I do have to worry about how my church will pay its bills.
Tithe is a religious word. You won’t see it anywhere else. It literally means 1/10. You know how it works, you have a dollar you give a dime. You have 100$ you give 10. You have 10,000 you give 1000. Wow, now that is a lot of money! I can see a lot of things I could get with $1000. Besides if everybody else would tithe they wouldn’t need $1000 from me. Why do I have to give more than the other people? I’m paying their way. That’s not fair. It’s my money! Money can make you greedy and wreck your life if you don’t know how to balance.
We use money to get stuff. We get some stuff and we want more stuff. If getting something made us happy then it only stand to reason that getting a lot will make us real happy. We fill up the house and then move it to the garage to make room for more stuff. We fill the garage and get a storage building. Some of it was stuff from other people that died. We die and a huge pile of stuff is left behind. Someone else sorts through and throws most of it away. Some they add to their stuff until they die. We die but stuff never dies.
Did we own the stuff or did it own us? We worked hard and gave up precious time to get the stuff. We had to move it, clean it, repair it, replace it, protect it and even insure it. Stuff is money. It brings the same problems. Greed will never leave us. It’s part of our legacy. Mine, mine, mine.
We need to understand that we have an appetite for stuff. An appetite is a term that we use but I’m not sure we understand. When we have a desire for something and get it we are satisfied but an appetite is not like a desire. If you feed an appetite it only gets stronger. I have an appetite for ice cream. After I eat it I’m not happy. I don’t have any more to eat. It is the consuming that feeds my appetite.
If we got in the middle of the Church and God came and stood on one side and Satan stood on the other and we had to choose we would get it right. It would be so easy to know who we wanted to go with. But if God was on one side and all our stuff was on the other side it would be a little more difficult. That’s the power of stuff!
Where did stuff come from? Stuff was here before I was so it belonged to someone else. Where will stuff go? When I die it will be divided among those left behind so is it really my stuff or is it more accurate to say it is mine while I’m here. If it is only mine while I’m here who does my stuff really belong to?
It’s obvious that the real owner has to be God. Since he alone has the power of creation and is from everlasting to everlasting he owns everything. So where does my ownership fit in? It is one of the most important principles of life and that is the principle of the steward. A steward has ownership temporarily until the master calls for his property. That fits the description 100%.
A good steward uses the resource exactly as the master would. He does what his master would do. Now it is important to realize we aren’t talking about the 10% we tithe we are talking about everything we own. It is God’s stuff. It is entrusted to us for a short time and we are directed to use it to honor God and fulfill his plan. The steward is paid by the master when he returns to take possession of his property. Every Christian is a steward!
Jesus gave us a fantastic view of what God wants us to do with his stuff with his parable of the three servants. It starts in Matthew 25-15. If you are a Bible person you remember this one.
A master is going on a journey so he leaves his money (stuff) with 3 servants (stewards). With one he leaves 5 talents (a large sum of money), another receives 2 and another 1. This division was not by chance but according to the ability of the stewards. We know that all of us don’t have the same ability, especially when it comes to money!
Both the servant that had 5 and the servant that had 2 used the money like their master would have and doubled it. The third was afraid he would lose the money so he buried it. He knew he would not make any gain but at least he wouldn’t lose any.
When the master returned and asked for his property the first two were rewarded and praised for using the property of the master. By using it like the master would have used it they had honored him and increased. Their work was part of their masters plan.
The third servant gave back everything the master had given him. You might think the master would have been satisfied that nothing was lost but it is obvious that this master had a plan for growth. He was furious that this servant had opportunity and let it go. Because he was afraid to act he had changed the plan of the master to fit his wishes.
It is a real change in our way of thinking to realize you are a steward. I’m not looking forward to telling God how I spent his money! I’m glad his grace abounds. Stewardship is our center of gravity. Our first law of balance is realize Its God’s money. All of it!
I lived most of my life in debt. Seems it wasn’t what I wanted to do I just sort of drifted into it. It wasn’t God’s plan, it was mine. I lived on 110% of my income for years. I was sure that at some point I would get real busy and focus on my income and pay off my debts. It was always easier to wait and do it later. The problem with debt is it’s always more when you wait.
We live in a unique time. When the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land Moses gave them a couple of long speeches. It’s called the book of Deuteromy . He tells them If they follow Gods plan they will prosper and never need to borrow. They will lend to others but never have to borrow. The mindset was that you borrowed when you were not doing well. It was a sign that things were not right.
That mindset seemed to survive for thousands of years. I remember my parents agonizing over getting a loan to get through hard times. I remember when credit cards first appeared. I was a telephone man and my wife was a school teacher. We could not qualify for a credit card and they were only used at gas stations. Now I get offers at least twice a week. The offers say “congratulations” you are doing so good you can borrow more! You have so much buying potential! My how the times have changed!
I use to think that Jesus slipped up and got it wrong when he said you can’t serve God and money. He used the word mammon which translated to mean your “treasure” You will either serve one or the other. Its Matthew 6.24. I wanted to say “Jesus I think you meant God or Satan”. That is the classic struggle but now I see he made that statement for us in our present day. It fits us better than any people since time began.
You get your credit card for convenience. It makes it easy to pay. It safer than cash. They give discounts, points for free tickets and cash back. No wonder we want them. But at what price?
The average interest rate is 17%. If you make the minimum payment you will pay it off in 14 years. That means you will pay 500% more. You go out to eat and put it on the card. Your $50 dinner for 2 will cost $250. Do you remember what you had for dinner 14 years ago?
Once you get a balance on your card you realize it is climbing. You decide not to charge anything else. You get $300 from Aunt Jane and you buy something really cool instead of using the card. Its just a deception because you have to look at how much better off you would have been if you had paid it on your balance. You know who loves deception?
The average American that has credit card debt owes 16000 in credit card debt. That’s just the card. There is still the car, house, student loan, etc. How does that affect his balance of work, family, God, church, health, recreation and everything else. To correct the imbalance he created he has to focus on making money to pay the bills. He can’t turn down anything or anyway to make enough money.
If you are out of balance in your financial life you are also out of balance in every other area. You have marriage problems, family problems and more. So how do you correct it? Second law of balance is I need to be knowing where my moneys’ going. Bad English but good finance.
You can spy on your money for a couple weeks and get a good idea. Keep a list on your phone or a piece of paper. Write down everything, you will have surprises!
Your job, family, health and money will always be changing. To keep it in balance we must constantly adjust. Once you have a spending plan (don’t say budget, budgets constrict and stop you from doing things so you will abandon a budget) it will come down to math. Not complicated square roots and reciprocals but just adding and subtracting. Spending plan is like eating plan. It’s all in the verbiage but eating plan sounds better than diet.
My old method was to pay my debts then spend on the things I wanted and what was leftover could be used for giving. We all know what leftovers are. Look in the fridge in the Tupperware. Was it beef or kidney? Yea, let God have that cause I don’t want it! Since it was money I could have used spending I really wanted my giving to be noticed so I could at least get some recognition. I hate to admit it but that was me.
You have heard it all your life, “You can’t take it with you!” If you study your Bible you will find out that’s a lie! When you manage your wealth in a way that honors God you have treasure laid up for you in heaven. Now, for some even better news. Treasure laid up for you in Heaven is an annuity. You will draw dividends forever and never use any of the deposit. It just keeps paying and paying
Maybe a 10/10/80 plan or whatever numbers work for you would be better. Give 10 save 10 and live on 80. Whatever numbers you use do your giving and saving first and then your living. If you are thinking like a steward you are realizing that that 100% will be used to honor God, not just the 10% you give. More good news, It’s God’s money but you get credit for spending it!
As Christians we realize we were created by God for a purpose. When we connect with God and honor him we receive hope and joy beyond understanding. The hope is that God will find our efforts to honor him pleasing. The joy is our reward when we do.
Heaven’s bank is open 24×7. Open your fruit account today.