A Balanced Life?

Ran across this post from Christine Sine, in which she asks the valid question: Did Jesus lead a balanced life? I recommend reading the whole post, but here’s an excerpt:

I identified three basic rhythms. First, his spiritual life, which was based on the Jewish rhythm of prayer several times a day interwove through all that he did focusing his life and priorities on God rather than work. As well as that he seems to have had a good balance between work and rest, community and solitude, feasting and fasting.

You’ll want to read the comments section as well, particularly this equally well thought out response from a reader named Rick:

I think Jesus TRIED to live a balanced life.

However, if someone mentioned to me that my daughter Anna had quit her job and was going on a 40 day fast, I think I’d be worried. Or if I heard that Anna was frequently spending 6-8 hours alone in the mountains at night praying, I’d wonder. And if people told me that Anna thought she had a healing ministry and she was casting out demons and praying for mobs of several thousand people frequently I’d worry. I’d be concerned if she left home, wasn’t working and had no permanent residence, sleeping at friends houses for three years. And of course, if Anna told me she spent about an hour talking to Moses, that would be the last straw. I’d say, that’s it, you are dangerously unbalanced.

Read the whole thing here: Weblog » Emergent Village » Did Jesus Lead a Balanced Life?.

My thoughts? I don’t think Jesus was thinking about balance at all. And he certainly focused all his energy on doing what he felt God had called him to do. He focused his living on whatever he was doing that day. So I think he was living by a completely different idea of what balance is than what we would apply.

I think questions like this — where we entertain that maybe, just MAYBE, we’re not so different from Jesus after all — I think that’s where LEARNING from him begins.

Post your thoughts below . . .