Many a times we will discover that our life of faith is

            in conflict with our family life; and that our family life

            is in conflict with our career.  How can we maintain

            the balance between our life of faith and family life; and

            between our family life and our career?

 

Let us first discuss the definition of ‘balanced’

I.       WITHOUT SPECIAL EMPHASIS

The balance is an instrument used to measure weight.  On one side lays the object to be weighed; on the other side the balance weights.  If the both sides have the same weight the balance beam will become balanced.  That is, the two sides are equal and even.  However, if the two sides are different in weight, the balance beam will tilt to the heavier side.  Quarrels and conflicts are often the results of injustice and unfairness. if a certain matter is not treated with fairness and justice, then there is no doubt that someone will protest and rebel against it.  The first meaning of "balanced", therefore, is to be without any special emphasis and regard everything we encounter with fairness and justice.

II.    WITHOUT DEVIATION

Many of us have had the experience of learning to ride a bicycle. We realized that if our body weight is maintained in an equilibrium position, the bicycle will tilt to one side and cause us to fall off.  Jesus once said, "Man do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Jesus further reminded us to maintain an equilibrium between "labor to receive material food" and attend services to receive the Word of God." We cannot stay in the chapel to read the Bible and to pray twenty-four hours a day and not go to work.  Similarly, we cannot work and busy ourselves all day and become alienated from God.  Both of these things are vital to us and we cannot deviate to one or the other extreme.

III. WITHOUT MUTUAL EXCLUSION

Jesus once said to us, 'No one can serve two masters; one cannot serve God and mammon." Jesus did not mean that we have to live a pure and simple life and be against the pursuit of money, but rather, He wanted us to maintain a balance between God and mammon.  God and mammon are not mutually exclusive.  There have been many examples in the Bible illustrating this fact.  In affluence or in affliction, job was able to fear God and abstain from evil.  Wealth and abundance did not influence his faith toward God.  Money is a basic necessity in our life, however, our pursuit after money must never surpass our pursuit after God.

If we are able to maintain the three above mentioned items in our daily it we can live a well-balance life and our heart will be constantly filled with peace and joy.

Let us now discuss how to maintain the balance between our life of faith and our family life.

The Bible says that a person should not be too extreme in doing good work.  That is, although we are doing what is good, we should, at the same time, maintain self-control.  For example, it is good for us to attend church services and perform church holy work often, However, if we spend too much time and effort in church and, as a result, neglected our family life, the sacrifice would be overwhelming.  Different faith and belief may create a mental block between members of the same family.  Even if they all believe in the same faith, different levels of fervency will also create disharmony among family members.

As recorded in the Bible, Samuel was a good prophet; however, his sons refused to obey his teachings.  One possible reason is that Samuel spent too much time in the work of God that he overlooked the importance of cultivating his children.  As stated in the Bible, if one cannot manage one's own household, how can one manage the house of God? Is the answer so simple as to not participate in church holy work and not attend church services?

Holy work in the church spans many dimensions.  It is not enough for the pastors, ministers, and the church board to carry all the burden of church holy work. If every member in the church is willing to actively participate in at least one area, then the church holy work will be share by all members of the church, and then the burden will not be so heavy laid on the pastors and ministers.  If each member shares a part in holy work, each will have time to care for their individual family affairs.  The church is comprised of all the brothers and sisters.  Every member ought to have a sense of participation in church holy work.  In regards to attending services, since churches in United States do not hold services on a daily basis, there is less conflict between service attendance and family life.  Those who are able to attend services should do their best to attend.

We should all try to maintain an equilibrium between our life of faith and our family life, so as to prevent resentment from any non-believing family members.  By doing so, we can gradually guide them to the church, and also be able to please God.