Minding the Second Part of the Sentence

Before we finish this five-part series about living in balance, let's start with the definition of balance from several dictionary sources. “Balance is having the right amount — not too much or too little — of any quality, which leads to harmony or evenness. You might admire the balance someone has achieved between working hard and having fun.” Balance is "something used to produce equilibrium, counterpoise, mental steadiness, emotional stability, habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc. For example, the good times balanced the bad times.”

Let’s start with some sentences about achieving balance in real life. Believe me, when walking on a tightrope in times like these, twenty stories above the ground, you had better ‘mind your balance.’   

“Anyone that annoys you – is teaching you patience and calmness. Anyone who abandons you – is teaching you how to stand on your own when you need to. Anyone that offends you – is teaching you forgiveness and compassion. Anything that you hate – is teaching you unconditional love. Anything that you fear – is teaching you about the necessity of having the courage to overcome your fears.

Anything you can't control teaches you how to let go. Any answer of "No" you get from another person – teaches you to be independent. Any problem you are facing teaches you how to look for solutions to problems. Anyone who looks down on you – is teaching you to look up to God.”

When living unbalanced, we tend to avoid seeing the second part of these sentences. The second part is the balance or solution to the first part of the problem or dilemma. It would help if you got to the counterbalance to be balanced or even balanced in your favor. Otherwise, the negative will outweigh the positive; the problems will outweigh the solutions. Then, we eventually end up hopeless, hapless, helpless, and maybe even homeless, with more internal issues than Time Magazine has published. 

The problem with living at either end of the bell-shaped curve is that many times, unbalanced people attract unbalanced people and then try to control their environment by becoming a group to appear more balanced and legitimate. Think of it: Every extreme group thinks it's balanced, and everyone else is out of balance. Who determines what is balanced? God and the people in the middle of the bell-shaped curve realize the value of balance. 

As I said in the first article of this series several weeks ago, God hates unjust balances. That's why God sent Jesus. Jesus brought the second part of the sentences above to even out the scales and tip in your favor, the unjust scales of a world "in sin and error pining." However, we need to understand and choose to believe the second part of the sentences to receive the benefits of the second part of the sentences.

For example, consider the unbalanced nature of politics. What is politics? It is the art of making your selfish interest the national interest. Henry Adams said, "Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organizations of hatred." When you start hating, you stop thinking. 

The nature of politics has the potential to become highly unbalanced. Politics, used with wisdom and common sense, is a good thing. Politics is a wonderful servant, a terrible master. But when politics is taken to extremes, it quickly becomes a bad thing, i.e., the servant becomes the master. Extreme politics becomes narrow, self-serving, judgmental, and adversarial to anyone who disagrees with their position. Liberty and justice for all require balance, and we must apply the second part of the sentence to the first part of the sentence for stability and equilibrium. 

How does an ‘unbalanced-ism’ manifest itself in politics, culture, or any other arena? It comes down to three things in this order: They compare, classify, and commend. The first thing an extreme movement will do when they see another extreme or balanced group is compare. “Do they do it the way we do it? Do they agree with the biased news that we watch?” 

The Apostle Paul uses this idea in 2 Corinthians 10:12b. He talks about extreme factions in the church that had already started at that time. “For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves, but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.” 

Let me summarize this for you. When you have a group and groupthink that measures itself by itself, that group eventually becomes extreme and crazy. It's like an inbred herd of cattle. The more you inbreed, the more the positive genes decrease, and the harmful genes increase. Inbreeding in a herd produces insanity if not checked.  

After comparing everyone with them, then they classify. “Oh, you are one of them. Get away from me." Then we hear extremely unbalanced rhetoric like appalled, outraged, offended, weird, etc. They shut off all honest communication after they have classified you. Then comes commendation. That's when the group commends itself for being right, having higher moral ground, and justifying its position or purpose. In other words, good luck with unity, coming together, and liberty and justice for all. 

No wonder we are in this state. God loves balance, and so should we. No one on earth should get everything they want. Why? There will never be enough. That's unbalanced.              

Where’s the middle ground? Where are the people's voices in the middle of the bell-shaped curve? It could be better, but more balanced people attract more balanced people. Not every group or movement is unbalanced. Liberty and justice for all require that the center make room for the extremes but not bow down to the extremes. Extremes have a right to be here but do not have a right to tell everyone what to do.

How do you fix America and the world? Put Jesus back in all the places the extremes demanded Him to leave, i.e., home, school, government, church, and your heart. This statement may seem extreme to the extremists, but not to most in the middle of the bell-shaped curve.  

I started this series with a quote by Patti Smith, which needs repeating. Patti Smith says, “In art and dreams, may you proceed with abandon. In life, you may proceed with balance and stealth.” In other words, dream big, but live balanced.