How often do you consider the importance of balance in your life? If you see a nutritionist, you have probably been told about the importance of eating a balanced diet consisting of fruits, veggies, and carbs. Likewise, if you drive a car, you have probably heard a mechanic tell you that you need to have your tires balanced to prevent them from pulling in one direction or another.
Good balance, it seems, is part and parcel of our everyday living; and just like there ought to be equilibrium in our physical lives, there should also be balance when it comes to matters of the faith. According to Psalm 147:11 – “…the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” We see in this verse that fear and hope are important if we wish to please God. However, if they are not properly balanced, they will not produce in us the result that He desires.
Matthew Henry once summarized it this way, “A holy fear of God must be a check upon our hope to keep us from presumption and a pious hope in God must be a check on our fear to keep us from sinking into despondency.”
When you consider your spiritual walk, do you have the proper balance between fear and hope? On the one hand, God does not want you to be like the servant in Matthew 25 who was afraid to invest his master’s money. On the other, God doesn’t want you to be inflated with pride or self-sufficiency because it is only through Him that we have strength. If you notice an imbalance in your life, make the necessary changes today so that you can mature into Christ as God intended.
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