Balanced Life

I recently came across a portion of Christopher McCluskey’s writings on Christian coaching. In this excerpt, he spoke about living a balanced life. He stated that life could essentially be broken down into three main areas – worship, work, and play.

The worship portion of your life is supposed to be dedicated to God. This is when we spend time in prayer, at church, enjoying a sunset, and the list goes on. These activities all require that you be present, hence they cost you something. However, the payback is well worth your investment. This is where you are supposed to get your sense of worth and purpose.

The work portion of your life is where you spend the majority of your days. It includes your job, household chores, paying bills, getting groceries, and again the list goes on. And just like worship it requires something from you. However, the payback happens when you feel a sense of accomplishment in a job well done.

The last portion of your life is play. Play takes on different forms for different people. Exercising, hobbies, playing with grandkids, reading a book are all examples of play. And again, the list is almost endless. Just like the other two, playing requires something from you and supplies you with a return on your investment. This is where you are supposed to be refreshed and renewed.

Your life is most likely one of constant busyness. This fast paced living can cause your life to get out of balance. The lines between worship, work and play get blurred. When this occurs, Christopher points out that the normal pattern shifts to an abnormal pattern. You start working at your play, playing at your worship and worshipping your work. Operating under this pattern causes you to feel overwhelmed and your soul to feel malnourished.

Unfortunately, this pattern is a reality for the majority of people who are subjected to fast paced cultures. The cure is to slow down, honestly evaluate your priorities, intentionally reshuffle your schedule, and concentrate on being present.

When you spend time doing what is appropriate and necessary in each of these three ares of your life and not allow them become blurred, your sense of balance will return. And this, my friend, should be the goal of us all.