Humans are tempted to sway to extremes. We are like pendulums, tending to sway to one side or the other. In contrast, God is a firm foundation. Christians must find their ballast in God’s word. A simply example may prove my point– consider the balance of Scripture on the topic of our bodies.

The body is not unimportant. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Yet, the body is not everything. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord… We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-7. Our bodies are wasting away. We should hope in Christ and look forward to eternal life.

Because the body matters, how we eat matters. Scripture is practical for all of life. Consider how you eat!

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. – 1 Corininthians 10:31

Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, not about your body, what you will put on. – Matthew 6:25

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. – Ecclesiastes 2:24

(We need to read the verses in their full and larger context, but I believe the following can be deduced.) When we eat, we should praise God for his provisions, giving him glory and realizing that he is faithful. We can enjoy what he has given us and eat without guilt. But we shouldn’t take this as a mandate to indulge and neglect our bodies.

Email is an important means of communication. It has helped me to keep in touch with friends, set appointments, and be informed of the news. But I have gotten to the point of being overwhelmed by email! It is simply too time consuming to read all my email! I have a love/hate relationship with technology. I love my cell phone and computer and depend on it… but at the same time, it can easily become a distraction, keeping me from doing my work. (The blame falls on myself too.)

The benefit of technology is being called into debate. As this article points out, workers seem to working more but accomplishing less. Christians would do well to consider whether they are too dependent on technology and how they are spending their time. In small but substantial ways, technology can creep into our lives and demand too much of us. Americans are married to their Televisions. It seems like we need noise and distractions just to feel comfortable.

Christians are called to be countercultural. But I am afraid we are just like the rest. We have lost the art of meditation and self-reflection. Will you consider taking some steps to lesson technology’s power on you? When was the last time you drove in the car without the radio or music on? It is important to reflect on your life and your relationships. Silence is the peaceful environment where you can be still and know that God is God. Fight technology’s addictive power and strengthen your dependency on Christ!

One of the reasons I love to be in nature is that I realize how tiny I am. Did you ever consider how big the Rocky Mountains are? Or how magnificient the Grand Canyon is? God is amazingly big. He is the creator. He transcends us.

You don’t need to be in a national park to understand this. This past Thursday, I went for a jog around my campus. It was good to see the mountains and be reminded that I am not the center of the universe. God put me back in my place. But yet, even though I am seemingly insignificant, God cares for me!

Psalms 8:

1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babes and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

“Had you invested $10,000 in Wal-Mart in 1975, you’d be sitting on $25 million today.”

I find in myself the tendency to go to the extremes: either to love money too much or to have a pauper mentality. (The latter happens after I find out how fleeting and distressing chasing after money is. Then I feel like it’s all useless and that I should become a monk or join the Omish).

It’s in times like that when I need scripture to keep me balanced. Money is not intrinsically evil. The Bible tells us to save money. Money can be a great tool for the gospel. Imagine what the church could do if Christians tithed? At the same time, the love of money can easily become an idol. I can lose the joy I have in Christ if I do not keep Him as my treasure.

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. – 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. – Proverbs 11:4

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.- Colosians 3:23

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. – Proverbs 13:11

Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on… your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God. – Matthew 6

Tonight, we lost our basketball game, 50 to 47. If we “would have” won, we would have beaten an undefeated team. I wanted to win so badly! It’s in times like these that I need to remind myself that God is in complete control– what happened was God’s will. I can be sad that I didn’t win and analyze how to improve, but I shouldn’t let regret and after-thoughts of the game cloud my studying for the rest of the night. We can trust and accept God’s plan for our lives. (Romans 8:28) God is sovereign over nations and peoples. How much more then is He in complete control over the little events of my life.

I often use the phrase “if only I would have.” If only I had done this or that. When I use that phrase, I need to remind myself that God was and is in control. I can learn from my past to redeem time in the future. (Eph 5:16) But reflection that immobilizes has got to go.