We’re often told that we should seek to have a balanced life. However, what if there was something even better than living a balanced life? Dr. Greg Bourgond says that when we strive to live a balanced life we are under constant pressure to maintain the balance.
“When you try to seek balance it’s like walking a high wire. You can’t plan for every inevitability so when the winds of crisis hit you from the right and you lean into it. The winds of crisis hit you from the left, and you lean into it, you’re under constant anxiety and pressure to reorder your life in order to regain your balance to accommodate those things you didn’t plan on.”
If we shouldn’t strive just to live a balanced life, what should we seek?
“Instead of balance we should seek centeredness, like a spinning top that has its equilibrium at the core, no matter where you hit, it rights itself. When Jesus was ministering to thousands and He decided in the middle of the ministry to get into a boat and go to the other side of the lake. I imagine the Apostles were incredulous, what’s going on here we’ve got a ministry to do and when they caught up with Him, what did He tell them? He said, I must be about my father’s business.”
“He was centered, He always knew there was going to be ministry in front of Him but He was centered by this ultimate purpose.”
According to Greg, living a centered-life means several things.
• Have in order biblically informed values.
• Have foundational beliefs.
• Have a worldview that honors God and is motivated by things that motivate the heart of God.
We can’t separate certain aspects of our lives from each other. They all merge together to form an ecosystem of sorts.
“Your central beliefs establish your values. Your values inform your worldview. Your worldview conditions your motives. Your motives energize your behavior. Your behavior reflects the condition of your heart. They all are impacted by what we believe and it matters what you believe.”
Living a centered-life allows us to navigate whatever is in front of us. Whereas simply striving for balance will leave us always attempting to maintain equilibrium in life.
Dr. Greg Bourgond is a Christ-follower devoted to developing leaders after God’s heart. He is the President and Founder of Heart of a Warrior Ministries, a ministry dedicated to helping men live lives of integrity and honor under the authority of God. He and his wife have been married for 41 years. Their daughter and her husband have given them 6 wonderful grandchildren.
Key Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-17
Featured Songs: Open Hands – Laura Story; Eye of the Storm – Ryan Stevenson; Deeper – Meredith Andrews
Life is fleeting
