On Being Anchored Not Balanced

I’ve written at length on the subject of work in this blog.

I’ve written on work because work is integral to the expansion of the kingdom of God on earth.

In lauding the importance of work in the kingdom and arguing that there is no secular or sacred work, just legitimate and illegitimate work, I realized the question of work/life balance would arise.

So, I went to the Bible; specifically, I looked at Jesus’ life.

What I found surprised me. I found nothing that looked like a balanced lifestyle. Instead, I saw Jesus ministering all day and then praying all night.

I saw Jesus walking all day from one town to another and then instead of looking for a good hotel and place to eat raising a boy from the dead.

Balance, I suggested, is a myth, an unobtainable ideal unless comfort and peace, instead of the following Jesus, are one’s primary motivators. I still believe that. But if we are not to be balanced, as we follow Jesus, and life does not come at us in nice even, predictable waves, what are we to be?

The answer, I believe, is we are to be anchored. While I do not see Jesus living anything like a balanced lifestyle during the time of His earthly ministry, I do see Jesus taking time to pray. I do see Him seeking the will of the Father so that whatever He did during the day He could ensure He was only doing what He saw the Father doing.

I am striving to be anchored. For the past year, I have had no balance in my life, and I have been busier than ever before in my life. There has been no balance, and to seek it would have been to neglect my earthly work responsibilities.

Instead, what I am striving to do is be anchored. I try to spend time reading the Word and praying first thing in the morning so I can be prepared for the days’ tasks and challenges. I pray specifically about what I will be doing that day. I ask God for wisdom in solving problems I will face at work that day and think prayerfully about the solutions to those problems during my time in prayer. And, I ask for wisdom and guidance in ministering to the people I am discipling.

I have found that when I am anchored that during even the busiest days I do not feel unprepared. When I am not anchored, I feel like I am winging it even if I’m not busy.

Seek to be anchored, not balanced. GS

One thought on “On Being Anchored Not Balanced”

  1. This is really good. I’ve often found myself in conversations with friends on this very topic, and have never thought about this concept as one of being anchored vs. being on the balance/imbalance seesaw. The point being that when we are truly Anchored, we don’t get so caught up in the exhausting process of achieving balance and/or running away from imbalance.

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