Friday Read: The Myth of Balance

Martha was stressed, distracted, and overwhelmed with preparations while her sister Mary sat doing nothing to help. When she finally complained to Jesus about the unfair division of labor, she expected vindication. Instead, Jesus gently rebuked her: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better" (Luke 10:41-42). The problem wasn't that Martha was working—it was that she was working at the expense of the one thing necessary.

Modern culture obsesses over "work-life balance," as if life is a teeter-totter that must be perfectly level at all times. We're told to balance career and family, ministry and rest, productivity and leisure. But this framework is fundamentally flawed. Life isn't about equal distribution of time and energy across competing priorities—it's about proper ordering of loves, with God at the center and everything else orbiting around that relationship.

Jesus didn't come to help us balance our lives—he came to reorient them entirely. When he called his first disciples, they didn't negotiate for work-life balance or ask about reasonable expectations. They "left everything and followed him" (Luke 5:11). This wasn't reckless abandon—it was radical reorientation around the only thing that ultimately matters.

The apostle Paul understood this priority structure. He wrote, "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:7-8). This isn't about neglecting responsibilities—Paul worked hard, cared for churches, and maintained relationships. But everything existed in proper hierarchy, with knowing Christ as the supreme treasure that gave meaning to everything else.

The problem with the balance metaphor is that it makes all priorities equally valid, just needing proper time allocation. But Scripture teaches that some things matter infinitely more than others. Jesus said, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). Not seek first with proper balance—seek first, period. When God occupies his rightful place at the center, everything else finds its proper place around him.

What would change in your life if you stopped trying to balance everything and started prioritizing correctly? How much of your stress comes from treating all demands as equally important rather than filtering them through what matters eternally? The goal isn't perfect balance—it's proper order.