Living a Balanced Life!

As we continue to pursue the theme, "How to Guarantee a Productive and Effective Life", II Peter 1:6 says to add to knowlege, self control. Self control has to do with balance. I have come to believe that one of the most important words in the New Testament is this word balance. I don't know about you, but I have a strong compulsion to eat too much, sleep too much, work too much, etc. You can fill in your particular indulgence of choice. Have you ever noticed that there is a time signature for each musical piece? In the old Baptist Hymnals, you could see these in the upper left corner of the hymn. For instance, the time signature might be 4/4 or 3/4, etc. I am not a musician. In fact, I stood in chapel once with a music student whose response, after hearing me butcher the hymns sung, was to say that I must be a really good preacher because I clearly could not sing.

However, I have learned the difference between noise and music. It is rhythm. God made you with a time signature. It is six and one, six and one. He said to keep the Sabbath. He rested on the seventh day after creating the earth. When you work non-stop without a day off for just one week, you are trying to live life at the time signature of fourteen and one. You can do the math. I have found that He commanded us to follow the sabattical principle for our own good. In fact, I have found that I am much more productive and effective if I build into my schedule regular Sabbath Days. Admittedly, I have workaholic tendencies. Therefore, I am using time management and work to illustrate this point. You fill in whatever tempts you to get out of rhythm.

Let's make music, not noise!