Would you describe yourself as balanced? Okay, hold down the laughter!
I could write a book called Totally Stressed and How I Achieved it While Seeking Balance! I’m sure not balanced enough to write a book about balance, but I know someone who is. In fact, He summed up the three things we need for balance in a single sentence in His book. You guessed it! The someone is God, and the book is the Bible. And the verse is Micah 6:8. In it, God says…
Do justly.
To do justly, we implement rightness toward our family, ministry and ourselves as we fill in the blank spaces on our calendars. Sometimes it means we say, “No,” so we can say, “Yes,” to our God and our families. To “do” justly also means we DO something rather than shrinking away from the ever present challenges and demands of life. We use our limited time and resources reasonably because we know that it is God who gives us these things. When we do, we acknowledge that His gifts are indeed good.
Love mercy.
This pulls our hearts in. Mercy mandates forgiveness and forbearance. When we love mercy, we lose rigidity and celebrate the good news that none of us has received what our sin really deserves. Loving mercy helps us not obsess over a perfect house or a perfect ministry. It helps us stay flexible with our time and clarifies our priorities. Loving mercy protects us from the tendency to be legalistic and militant in the way we do life and ministry.
Walk humbly with God.
This is the best part because we simply position ourselves for an intimate journey with God. We don’t run ahead with our agenda and commitments but rather walk with Him as a sincere follower with a modest mind-set. To walk humbly is to be unimpressed with our titles, accomplishments and even our burdens.
God is The Balanced Leader.
When we follow Him, He leads us to imitate Him. We are at our most imbalanced when we are the most prideful. Pride makes us impatient, rigid and forgetful of our deep need for God. Those who truly walk humbly with their God can’t help but do justly and love mercy and become the balanced leaders God uses.
Let’s keep God’s standard and God’s pace so we can be balanced leaders!
Question: How do you maintain balance as a leader in ministry?
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