Balancing Life On The High Wire Series

Balancing Life on the High Wire

(Topical)

1. A single man was enjoying a meal in a fancy restaurant and there was a gorgeous woman sitting at the next table. He had noticed her since he sat down, but lacked the nerve to speak to her.

Suddenly she sneezed, and her glass eye came flying out of its socket toward the man. He reflexively reached out, grabbed it out of the air, and handed it back.

'Oh my, I am so sorry,' the woman said as she popped her eye back in place.

'Let me buy your dinner to make it up to you,' she said.

They enjoyed a wonderful dinner together, and afterward went to the theatre.

“I would like to take you on another date,” the man suggested as the evening drew to an end. “I have had such a good time; I never thought I would go on a date with such a beautiful woman.”

“Oh, you flatter me,” she replied. “Yes, I would love to go on another date with you. You caught my eye.”

2. Once we begin dating, that changes the balance of our life. So does marriage, having children, a new job, or even a new house. Balance is not an exact science, but a rough attempt to have enough of everything but not too much of anything.

Main Idea: To some of us, seeking to live a balanced life is natural; to others, it is anything but natural. Nonetheless, the only way to obey all of God’s commands is through balance; we prefer to pick and chose instead. We camp out in one area to the neglect of others.

I. Balancing All of LIFE (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Today’s sermon might be more like a seminar; a lot to contemplate.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

A. We must balance at least 7 ENTITIES

1. TIME

2. ENERGY

3. MONEY

4. HEALTH

5. REST

6. RELATIONSHIPS/FAMILY/FRIENDS/COMMUNITY

7. OUR WALK WITH GOD

B. Overdoing one means underdoing ANOTHER

1. An inexact science, and percentages change…

2. Sometimes this is necessary (sickness, tragedy, etc.)

3. Sometimes you have no choice (marriage, health, unforeseen expenses)

C. An imbalance creates CONSEQUNECES

1. Some things recharge/invigorate, others drain, some both (energy/morale)

2. Succeeding in business, failing in marriage or family

3. Trashing your time with God and missing the purpose of life

4. Developing a disease because you didn’t take time to exercise/eat right

the only way to obey all of God’s commands is through balance

II. Balancing WORK and Play (Ecclesiastes 4:5-6)

A. Extreme LAZINESS an undisciplined life is sinful

Ecclesiastes 4:5, “The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.”

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”

B. An extreme work ethic (workaholism) is a complex balance PROBLEM.

Forbes Magazine: “You know the type: desk stacked high with projects, always working, demanding, constantly sweating the small details, a hard-line perfectionist and no life outside the office.

Such people are workaholics, an obsessive-compulsive disorder that Dr. Bryan E. Robinson calls the nation’s “best dressed addiction.”

“It’s not about long hours,” says Robinson, a psychotherapist …“It’s about the inability to turn it off. It’s a question of balance.”

Corporate pressure doesn’t create workaholics any more than supermarkets create obesity or liquor stores create drunks. A workaholic is driven to put in long hours by internal needs, typically a desire to escape intimacy and social relationships.

Robinson says workaholics often come from dysfunctional homes and have learned that putting in crushing hours helps calm their anxiety about other aspects of life….workaholism only masks the underlying problem while creating other difficulties.

A hard worker will sprint at the office, handling prodigious amounts of work efficiently and well. Such people know how to relax and enjoy life away from the office and share outside interests with family and friends. But a workaholic constantly thinks and talks about work, even when at home or on the ski slopes. As a result, the workaholic’s family suffers, and despite long hours at the office, productivity lags.

Ecclesiastes 4:6, “Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.”

1. Addicted to own adrenaline (workaholism seems logical)

2. Incapable of relaxing

3. Controlling

4. Feeling guilty when relaxing