How balanced is your life? Are you balanced between home, work, school, relationships and everything else? What are the signs to watch out for that you are out of balance?
Picture a seesaw with one side up, the other side down and the fulcrum, that balance point between the two in the
Jesus Christ, Son of God Almighty, is the balance point in all of our lives, our true fulcrum. Each of us decides when enough is enough in our day-to-day living. The determining factor of who we are, what we believe, and what we will allow into our lives is all up to us. But there is an unnecessary problem we create for ourselves when we exclude Jesus Christ, who came to earth to show us how to live in this world, presently ruled by Satan.
Think of this for a moment. Jesus was led out into the desert wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by Satan. For forty days and nights Jesus fasted. Then Satan tempted Him to get food by changing stones into loaves of bread.
Jesus answers, “No! For the Scriptures tell us that bread won’t feed men’s souls; obedience to the word of God is what we need.”
Then Satan took Jesus to Jerusalem to the roof of the Temple, and said, “Jump off and prove you are the Son of God …”
Jesus responds, “It also says not to put God to a foolish test.”
Lastly, Satan took Jesus to the peak of a very high mountain, and showed Him all the nations of the world and all their glory, and said to Him, “I’ll give it all to you, if you will only kneel and worship me.”
How could this last test of Jesus been a real temptation is Satan were not the real ruler of this world?
Would the temptation of Jesus in the desert after His baptism really have been a temptation if Satan were not the present ruler of this world? (Remember Satan and one-third of the angels in heaven were cast out of heaven and sent to earth. These are the fallen angels of old.) Jesus goes into the desert where Satan tempts Him that if Jesus would bow down before him, Satan would give him all the kingdoms of the earth.
Jesus Christ, Son of God, remained faithful amid great temptations. How hungry are we after only missing a meal or a day or two of no food? Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. He was most certainly at the point of starving, and still chose to do God’s will, not his own.
We get that same choice to make each and every day. Who’s will do we follow?
Sometimes we act as though we are not in charge of ourselves, or our government or situations like global warming or world peace. But everything we think, do and say show us if we are in our out of balance, and what principles are important to us.
Policies and strategies can also be balanced on government fulcrums perfectly, or miss the mark entirely. When governments are out of balance, it is possible to not only fail as a nation, it is possible to harm the citizens who live there, cauterizing the hearts of rulers who treat people as less than human. Governments are the fulcrums within their own administrations as well as meeting their responsibilities globally. When governments are out of balance in their duties, it is possible to put an end to the one planet we all live on.
Each day we make the choices in our lives, to live by God’s will each day, or by our own will. Then there are times we freely give our own God-given will away to others or to situations. Those are the times we play the victim of our lives. Sometimes we act as if we are not in control of our lives, or that we are ignorant of what is really going on so that we do not have to deal with it. This is when we step out of our own power, as if someone else will make these decisions for us. This has a side benefit. When we play the victim in our lives, or abdicate the responsibility for our lives, we then begin to blame other people and other circumstances for everything we think is wrong. But this is not the truth. We are deceiving ourselves.
We need to peacefully take back the God-given power of our free-will that we gave away, individually, in our families, in our states and in our countries in the world, of which we are all a part. We can do this with calm integrity, no need for rash behavior. If we want things to be better, we have the power to make them better by making better life-giving decisions, and being better people. Let’s admit it. Sometimes we do not do our best because of a host of other reasons and/or justifications.
However, all of us in every country in the world, are at a tipping point of more people choosing bad over good, evil over good, or sin over virtue, not only in our own lives, but in the world at large. We can change this if we want to, but nothing will change unless we consciously decide to choose more good over bad, good over evil, or sin over virtue.
If money is the bottom line, as most people say these days as to what they determine to be the most important reason for decisions made, then humanity is doomed to fail, cities and states are doomed to fail, and the ecological health of the world will fail. In all cases, we can have all the money in the world and die of a disease; Flint, Michigan can have the biggest bank account to save money but unless money is spent to fix drinkable water there, the drinking water will remain toxic; and the world’s economy matters little when global warming is completed and the earth is no more.
There are many factors that affect our decisions, like greed, envy, sloth (laziness), lust, wrath (anger), gluttony and pride. We know these seven pitfalls as the seven deadly sins because they hurt us individually as well as collectively. Each of these negative or bad traits, sin, has a positive or good remedy, virtue.
Rather than be motivated by greed, we can think, speak and act generously. Perhaps money is not the bottom line after all.
Instead of envy we can practice genuine love.
To improve on sloth (laziness) we can take vitamins and invigorate our dreams, renew our goals, and begin yet again.
To combat the addiction to lust we can welcome purity and modesty in our thoughts, words and actions.
Addressing wrath and uncontrolled anger, a bad habit and often an addiction, requires taking a few deep breaths and allowing understanding, listening to others, improving communication and peaceful solutions to be possible. We may feel justified in our wrathful, renegade emotions, but unless we deal with them with integrity we may have regrets as time goes by.
The solution to gluttony is moderation in food and drink, or any other addiction we are over-indulging in.
Finally, the answer for pride is humility. Being proud of our accomplishments at a job well done is not a bad thing. The problem with pride arises when we go overboard, becoming vain, arrogant and haughty. We do not even like ourselves when we don this puffed up attitude, if we are being perfectly honest.
As strong as the negative traits, more accurately known as sins are, the positive virtues can become just as strong or stronger. It is simply a matter of focusing on good over bad, choosing good over evil. Practicing these seven virtues is one way we can make good shine in our lives.
What is wrong with the world starts with you and me, and the priorities we live by. You and I are each responsible for the conditions in our lives, our neighborhoods, cities and states, and in all countries in the world. Each day you and I get to decide for good, or for bad; for virtue or for sin. We each decide on this very day whether we will choose good over evil, evil over good or virtue over sin. We can build ourselves up or we can tear ourselves down. Likewise, we can tear our neighbors down or build them up; like tearing down or building up policies and actions that benefit the entire world.
Why does this matter?
It matters to you as an individual person to mature in integrity and honesty. It matters in order to create the neighborhoods we want to live in. It matters to stand up for the scientific facts that tell of how to fix broken systems in the world. Integrity and truth matter.
Thinking of our failings only as bad habits or negative traits keeps us is a downward cycle of “that is just how I am.” But acknowledging our failures as sins, something we can repent and be forgiven for, give us hope. We can make amends and build the broken bridges we have caused in our relationships. Try as we might, we will sin before the night is through in our thoughts, words and actions today. We are not perfect. But we keep trying. God the Father will always forgive us, through the Love of Jesus our Savior, and the Love of the Holy Spirit. These are the gifts promised to us by Jesus. Each day we have this hope. There is always hope.
Isn’t it our own business how we live our lives?
Yes, it matters. Yes it is our own business. The point is that we look at the world, then point fingers at what is wrong with it, when you and I are the snowball that started it all. There are things we can do to fix the problems of personal and global greed, envy, sloth (laziness), lust, wrath (anger), gluttony and pride, as mentioned above. We must start with ourselves if we want our countries to be better, for the sake of the world.
We have to start with the beginning of the problem, not just the middle or end of the problem.
Things never stay the same. Change is the only constant in life. Choosing good over bad, good over evil, or virtue over sin, however you look at it, will create a healthier, kinder, more humane world in which we all can live and thrive. This also creates a new beginning in our relationship with God, which might need our attention at this very moment.
Start right where you are. Are you in government? Then make the most honest, best decisions you can for the life of all the people under your jurisdiction, and for the life of the planet, not just self interest. Otherwise, you can be the fulcrum that tips towards destruction not only of you personally, but the entire earth. We are very near tipping towards the point of no return. Presently this is possible to fix. Try to be part of the solution, not exacerbating the problem. Things never stay the same. You can be the instrument to save the world as opposed to demolishing it. Ask for God’s help, through the intercession of Jesus Christ, with all the Love the Holy Spirit has to give.
The same goes for the financial crisis erupting in all countries across the globe, and all other matters of importance. Remember this when things get so complicated we cannot see the forest for the trees, think PEOPLE BEFORE THINGS. To have balance, prioritize people by helping where and when you can over taking care of things. Financial matters are things. Things matter, but people matter more. Money is not always the answer for problems people have. Yes, it all matters. You matter. Again, do not forget to include God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Love of the Holy Spirit in all your decisions for the best results possible.
All people matter, not only the rich, the top one percent of the wealthiest among us; not only the milky white people, but all people represented by the 203 countries including territories and protectorates of the United States of America, most of which are not milky white. God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, created Jesus His Son as His first Creation before any and everything else, in which Jesus took part in every other Creation known to us. We were all Created in Love, and with free-will.
We live in a global society. Our friends and families live all over the world. The planes we fly land in most all countries in this one world we share.
We are one race, the human race, here on this planet.
Education matters. Are you in education? Encourage your students/children with critical thinking skills in order that they include compassion and common sense as a problem solving process they can work with, including not mindlessly following the mistakes of some of the prejudiced generations before them. Show them by example how we all can be better people. Pray again. Pray through Jesus Christ, in the Love of the Holy Spirit, to the Father of All Creation, for the minds of all of humanity to continue to grow and learn as we were intended to grow and learn.
Educators, how do you handle bullying, hungry students, students at risk, students compromised in a wide variety of situations, and students standing up for themselves? Education is a priority in every person, family, neighborhood, state and country for the success of the world. Teachers are the shining light, the good that can help so many students in need of empathy, compassion, and understanding to be better citizens of the world. Never stop praying, through the intercession of Jesus Christ, who Himself endured numerous injustices in this world.
However we think of it, and whatever we think about, we bring about. Let’s make the world a beautiful place to live, within ourselves, with our families and friends, neighborhoods, states, countries and the entire world. Let us include God our heavenly Father, Jesus Christ His Son and our brother, and the Love of the Holy Spirit in our greater families since that is truly what we are, one global family.
God Bless