Finding balance

By Charles Christian

The core teachings of Jesus are included in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew chapters 5 through 7. A key passage is right in the middle of these. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things will be added to you.”

In short, Jesus is making a case for finding a healthy balance in life. According to these teachings, it is common for most of us to seek a variety of wants and needs as they become available or as they pop into our lives. In our pursuit of these things, we easily can become overwhelmed.

Our pursuit of money, fame and power can lead us down paths that cause us to find ourselves over our heads, chasing our desires until we become exhausted.

So, Jesus brings us back to the beginning of who we are and what we are about: the ways of God. Christianity teaches that we are the product of God’s design and creation. As creators, Christians believe that God knows how we work best. That means this call to turn to God’s ways is a call to seek God about what our gifts are, what our calling is and what our purpose could be. This takes prayer, wise counsel and thorough self-examination.

According to Jesus, this is time well spent, because the “things” that are actually important in life come along as a result of seeking God’s ways first.

Work and life balance are never easy, even for people of faith. That includes clergy. However, the idea of coming back to “ground zero” — seeking direction from God, God’s ways and our faith — is a powerful reset button that can restore balance and priorities to our lives.

The inventor of a plane knows how it flies best. That includes what fuel to use, how far it should fly at a time and how it functions best in certain situations. Likewise, the inventor of us — the creator and giver of life — according to Jesus, is the best place to go to restart and find the balance we need.