What is Balance?

[deacon blues]

A discussion on another forum (sorry to even mention that any others exist) about balance proved to be interesting. Much of what was said centered around that the concept of "balance" isn't really found in scripture spiritually speaking. Several downplayed its importance and stated that it was just an excuse for apathy. Others said that the words "moderation" and "temperance" are misapplied and do not connotate the concept of balance. Here's what I responded with:

I think of balance in terms of living a life rooted in the Spirit that is Biblical, reasonable, pragmatic, and right. "Uprightness" is a term I would equate with balance. The Hebrew word means "whole, complete, sound, entire." The Greek word means "straight or erect".

We want our ships to be balanced. You don't want a ship leaning to the right or left. We want our tires to be balanced. Have you ever driven a car with unbalanced tires? We want to be able to keep our balance or we are danger of falling.

We as human beings have a tendency to be extremists by nature. As Christians we see those who are licentious and abuse spiritual liberty to mean "unrestrained". We also observe those who believe that righteousness and holiness are defined by what we do or don't do, wear or don't wear, look at or don't look at, and lead people to believe that rules and discipline, regulations and restraint secure God's favor.

Balance is found in statements from Scripture such as John 1:14 "...and we beheld His glory...full of grace and truth." Also we find Jesus talking about worshipping God in "Spirit and truth". Spirituality is only empty experience without the truth of who Jesus is. Buddhists are spiritual. Hindus are spiritual. Muslims are spiritual. They are without the truth.

The letter of the law kills the Bible tells us. Rules alone can only destroy. Laws are only meant for the violators. One needs the "law of the Spirit". The laws of God are given in degrees with low level principles that are built upon higher level or deeper meaning principles. We see too often a preoccupation with less important principles at the cost of ignoring the weightier matters of the law.

I don't want to be a libertine. I don't want to be religious. I want to be somewhere in between. Holiness is "reasonable service" according to Romans 12:1. To say I am less godly because I will mow my grass in a short sleeve shirt on a 100 degree day is unreasonable. To say I will wear immodest clothing on hot days b/c I am uncomfortable and excuse it b/c "Jesus loves me anyway" is unreasonable. To say that Christians can watch anything Hollywood produces is foolish. But to say ANYTHING on a DVD produced by Hollywood is ungodly is equally unwise.

I see extremismgoing both ways and I refuse to get painted into a corner by either side of the aisle. I want to be upright. I want my steering column to to keep me from going left of center and to keep me from driving off of the shoulder. I want to fish in a boat that has integrity and balance, I don't want to fall over backward as the boat tilts to the right or left.

The word "balance" may not be found in the scripture, but the concept is certainly there.

No one responded to this post, and since I figured there were some "balanced" folk over here (as well as its share of "imbalanced" people) I thought we might have an invigorating discussion.

What is your opinion on the idea of being balanced?