While I was attending seminary in California, a little church nearby was gracious enough to let me be their pastor. Apparently, they saw their ministry as giving young pastors a chance to practice on them.
With all the enthusiasm of a young buck just starting to preach, I wanted to drive home the obligation to be completely sold out on every issue I addressed.
I distinctly remember preaching on sacrifice. This seemed to be an easy one. Christ gave everything for us on the cross. How could we do less? Therefore, it was evident that total sacrifice should be a hallmark of our lives.
The only problem was those verses that seemed to be saying just the opposite. For example, the apostle Paul in thanking the Philippians for their gift, commented, “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity.” (Phil. 4:12 NASV) He seemed to be saying that when he had plenty of money he knew how to enjoy it, though no doubt without being self-indulgent.
Likewise, in 1 Timothy 6:12, Paul, in admonishing the rich notes that God “provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” This verse seems to be teaching us that God wants us to enjoy His provisions.
These passages were ruining my sermon on total sacrifice. They indicate that the Christian life is not all sacrifice, but that God expects us to enjoy at least some of what He has given to us.
The next week’s topic was separation from the world. As I started to wind up for a convicting sermon on our need for separation from a sinful world, those verses about Jesus hobnobbing with the publicans and sinners started to get in my way. Apparently, just as with sacrifice, there were limits to separation.
It soon became apparent to me that for every concept in Scripture, there was a counterbalancing concept, so that every teaching of Scripture was delimited by an offsetting teaching.
Scripture not only teaches the righteousness and judgment of God, but it also reveals his mercy and grace. We not only have passages about not being weary in well doing, but we also hear Christ calling us to come apart and rest awhile. We have verses on obeying the government, and others that instruct us that we ought to obey God rather than men. The fact is that one is hard-pressed to find any scriptural concept that is not paired with a counterbalance in the opposite direction.
This arrangement holds implications for almost every practical decision we make. If we spend too little on a car, it will be an unreliable money pit. On the other hand, if we spend more for a car we reach the point of diminishing returns and poor stewardship.
Therefore, one of the most important skills of life is to be able to discern the point at which counterbalancing concepts meet. In the instance just mentioned, what is the optimal amount to spend on a car?
In disciplining children, we can nitpick at everything, driving them crazy and destroying our relationship with them, or we can be neglectful, failing to provide sufficient discipline. The challenge is to find the midpoint of maximum effectiveness.
How does one discern that ideal balance between the extremes? First, it requires the development of the in-depth knowledge of the Word of God discussed in our previous post.
One of the most encouraging phrases in Scripture is the last segment of 1 Corinthians 2:16, which asserts: “But we have the mind of Christ.” This passage provides assurance that as we seek to make the decisions of life from a biblical perspective, the Word of God will enable us to think Christ’s thoughts after Him. This goes beyond knowing specific verses related to the decision before us. Rather, it refers to understanding the mind of Christ so well that we instinctively know what He would do in the situation confronting us.
Balanced decisions also require practical knowledge. To make a good decision about the purchase of a car, we need to know something about cars. Likewise, in dealing with children, we need to understand kids in general, our kids in particular, and where they are in their lives at the moment.
Since decision-making is a major element of leadership, it is essential that a husband and father recognize this need for finding the optimal balance between the extremes. He must also develop the scriptural and practical knowledge necessary to make the decisions at hand.
This requires substantial work. However, the payback for doing an excellent job is substantial. Beyond that, God calls us to do the work necessary to lead effectively.