CD 1.

10 Life Principles

Balance
Holistic Growth through a Balanced Life

Objectives:

Students will be able to understand the following:

- Define Balance
- Identify the 4 areas of human need
- Identify the makeup of human beings
- Understand how to bring balance to 4 areas
- Understand how to notice imbalance in 4 areas

Visual Aid: A Four-legged Stool of Chair

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“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the
day is its own trouble.” - Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 6:34)

Introduction:

Today, we will be discussing the principle of maintaining balance in our lives. This is the last
principle in the set of lessons that explore principles that can be considered basic “laws of life”.
Laws that if we live by and internalize them, they will enable us to be the most effective we can
be in all areas of life.

What is balance and why is it important? We can see examples of balance all around us:

● Nature
○ For example; if we cut down too many trees, the rains decrease; or, if we
produce too much pollution the air quality decreases
● Eating
○ If we eat too many carbohydrates and not enough protein, we will not be
healthy and balanced
● Spirituality
○ Think of the "Wheel" illustration (Prayer, Word, Witness, and Fellowship). This is
an example of balance in the spiritual area of life. All spokes are required for the
 wheel to run smoothly. A wheel that’s missing spokes will be unbalanced and not
work properly.
Visual Aid: A Four-legged Stool or Chair

This picture, and the one that you are sitting on are chairs/stools
with 4 legs. Those legs support you to sit and balance securely
without falling over. This chair/stool is to illustrate holistic
growth (mental, physical, social, spiritual) to maintain balance in
all areas of your life.

If one leg is shorter or broken, is there balance? If one leg is

longer, is there balance?

One of the most important things we can do for ourselves is to make sure we are considering
health and balance in each and every area of life. It is very common to find people who are
"successful" in one area of life, but they are miserable or completely out of balance in other
areas. For example, if you have a very good job and feel successful because you are earning a
good salary, your family life may be struggling. We see that too much of a good thing can
become a bad thing if you end up focusing only on certain areas and do not attend to other
important dimensions of life.

There are many leaders who have achieved political success and now they are MP's or even
Ministers, but when you talk to them privately, they confess that they have no direction in life.
The kids are in good schools, but when they come home there is no mother or father at home.
These people may look OK from the outside, but in other areas, things are a mess.

The purpose of today’s lesson is to learn that if you want to experience a sense of well-being
overall in your life, you must give balanced attention to each area. Success in one area does not
compensate for or justify failure in another. Business success cannot justify failure in a
marriage. Success as a church pastor cannot justify failure to be a good parent.

Gandhi, the wise man who led the struggle for independence in India, made this observation,
“For one man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in
any other department. Life is one indivisible whole.”
 Looking at the life of Jesus...

Often what creates an imbalance in our life is worrying about controlling things that are
ultimately out of our control. But, Jesus teaches us:

“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the
day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:34

Being overly worrisome leads us to over-compensate in our life in one area or another. When
we settle into our divine identity, we can move forward with confidence that God is with us,
and will see us through whatever it is we feel is beyond our control. Our job is to learn from
the past, plan for the future, and live well by integrating our values into our daily life.

“Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” - Luke 2:52

There are 4 major areas of life that we need to be aware of and maintain balance in, and
looking at the life of Jesus in Luke 2:52 we can gain some insight here.

1. Wisdom – that is the mental area;

2. Stature – that is the Physical area;
3. Favor with God – which is the Spiritual area;
4. Favor with man – which is the Social Area.

In this simple verse, we can see that Jesus seemed to grow in a well-rounded way. This insight
gives us a model for how we ourselves are to approach our own development in life - not just
focusing on excelling in one area, but pursuing holistic growth in a balanced life.

Discussion Question: Are there ways you try and over-compensate in areas of your life
because of certain worries or fears that you have?

➤➤The 4 Basic Dimensions of Life:

1. Physical Dimension
The need to live: A.) Biological B.) Material ---- The need for such things as food,
health, clothing, shelter and financial means
2. Social Dimension
The need to love --- the need to relate to other people, to belong to a group, to
love and be loved
 3. Mental Dimension
The need to learn --- the need to develop and grow in our understanding of
God's creation around us, the history of man, and the knowledge of truth about
life
4. Spiritual Dimension
a. The need to leave a legacy ---- People need to have a sense of purpose to give
meaning to life. To be fulfilled, we need to feel that we have made a contribution
toward things that matter in the eternal scheme of things. This is because God
made us to be co-creators with him and if we are not doing this, we will feel
incomplete. We are his hands, his instruments in this world.

From the diagram we can see that these

areas overlap and therefore are
interrelated. Health in one area helps to
elevate health in the other areas; but,
equally, you cannot be totally healthy if
one area is unhealthy. When we live a
balanced and integrated life, we
experience a feeling of wellness or
"synergy."

Synergy simply means: the sum of the

parts is greater than the whole. Another
way to put this or to define the effect of
synergy is: 1+1=3. In other words, when
everything is in balance there is an added
'bonus' we feel in life. We become
energized and experience harmony in life.
We have what we need to live properly, we have loving relationships, we are learning all the
time, and we are leaving a legacy by making a positive contribution to the world around us.

➤➤Definition of Balanced Living:

So, for the purposes of our discussion, we can define balanced living as recognizing and giving
proper attention to each of the four important areas of life.
How can we discover if we are balanced in these areas? Here are a few questions we can ask
ourselves to determine how we are doing in the different areas:

● Physical
○ Biological - Do you have sustained energy and physical capacity throughout the
day- or do you constantly feel tired and weak?
○ Material - Do you have enough income to cover basic needs? Do you have debts?
Are you living beyond your means? Do you have a habit of borrowing from Peter
to pay Paul?
● Social (or Relational)
○ Do you have rich satisfying relationships with others? Are you able to work with
others effectively to accomplish common purposes-or do you feel alienated and
alone unable to spend quality time with the people you love? Do you have
problems of misunderstanding, politicking, backbiting, blaming and accusing?
● Mental (or Intellectual)
○ Are you constantly learning, growing, gaining new perspectives, and acquiring
new skills? Do you read different kinds of books to widen your intellectual
understanding?
● Spiritual
○ Do you have a clear sense of direction and purpose that inspires and energizes
you? Do you feel vague about what's important to you and unclear about what
your life is about? Do you feel you have contact with your creator and a sense
that He is guiding your life?

➤➤2 Important Observations about Imbalance or Unmet Needs:

1. If we are unhealthy or lacking in any one of these areas, we can become preoccupied
with that area and it can become a "deep hole" sucking in most of the energy and
attention we should be using in other ways. It’s like when you have a small wound in
the toe which is very painful and it disorganizes the whole body and mind.
2. Often, when people are failing in one area, they try to overcompensate by doing very
well in another area. We try to get satisfaction from one area to make up for failure in
another area; but, that doesn't work and we remain with the unsettled feeling that
things are not as they should be.

➤➤Maintaining Balance in Each Dimension:

Developing Health and Balance in the Physical Area:
● Biological - I. Corinthians. 6:19
 ○ Vibrant health is based on natural principles. It grows out of a balanced diet
(greens, vegetables, fruits), regular aerobic exercise (the body is the only
machine that wears out from lack of use), and adequate sleep (this varies with
individuals 7-8 hrs. /day is average), healthy frame of mind, and avoiding
substances which are harmful to the body.

● Material - I Thessalonians 4:11-12, Phil. 4:19, Phil. 4:11-12

○ Distinguishing between wants and needs. Needs are things you need for survival:
food, shelter, and clothing. Wants are unlimited. Wants can be controlled and
simplified. Paul said I have learned to be content in all situations - Phil. 4:11-12.
Sometimes you hear someone say: "I need sex" or "I need a TV" Are these wants
or needs? You can either try to increase your ability to satisfy the wants or you
can learn contentment with what your have.

In all stable civilizations throughout history there have been some basic principles which are key
to economic wellbeing. Here are four of the main principles, which are also echoed in the Bible:

● The principle of thrift: this means learning to do things inexpensively when possible.
● The principle of industry: this means being hard working at all times, busy and
productive.
● The principle of saving: which is setting aside part of everything you earn no matter how
little.
● The principle of earning interest rather than paying it: this means being debt free, living
within your means and investing your savings in something that generates a return …
rather than getting a loan for something which means you have to pay interest on top of
the principle.

2 Common Problems to Avoid in the Area of Finances:

1. Many people try to solve all their financial problems by getting loans from friends. That
is very dangerous. It is not bad to get a short-term loan from a friend when you are
stuck, but if you make a habit of it eventually you will have so many debts you will be
unable to pay them and you will damage all those relationships. It has happened to
many people. So be slow to borrow from friends and be very quick to repay.
2. Another dangerous thing is the mentality that you will get material wellbeing by chance.
Like winning the lottery or by something "out there" magically dropping wealth on us is
an illusion. The Buganda have a saying “he fell into things.” People who have this
mentality do not take the responsibility of being wise with their finances. They believe
 that financial wellbeing is a matter of chance. When this Premier Lottery came to
Uganda, there was an accountant who spent 1000/- and he won 100,000/- . He got so
excited he started putting all his money into buying more tickets – after using all his
money he started stealing money from the organization. In the end, he spent over 1
million and he got nothing more. He even lost his job when it was discovered what he
had stolen from the workplace.

Developing Health and Balance in Social (Relational) Area:

In Philippians 2:1-4, we learn that the underlying factor of quality relationships is the principle
of trust.

Trust grows out of:

● Trustworthiness: being worthy of someone's trust and affection by virtue of your own
integrity
● The ability of making and keeping commitments
● Sharing resources and helping in hard times
● Really caring about how someone's life is going
● Being united with others through sharing a common vision

Developing Health and Balance in the Mental (or Intellectual) Area:

Romans. 12:2, Ephesians 4:22-24, II Tim. 2:15 - This involves the discipline of study: This is
taking in wisdom about life not just knowledge about things. Much of our education is geared
toward passing the exams so that we get a job in order to get money to buy things and be
successful.

Much of the learning going on in schools today is really just "cramming" - memorizing
something to pass the exams but not really. There is not enough time for reflection, digestion
and application to life, which is the real aim of learning. It seems it is when we leave school
that we have the time to really learn about the deeper things in life rather than digesting.
Balance isn’t “either/or" thinking; it is "both/and".

Developing Health and Balance in the Spiritual Area:

In I Peter 2:1-5 we learn that the basis of this area of need begins in being rightly related to
your creator. Jesus revealed God's nature as that of a loving father who wants us to be his
children. Once we have reconciled ourselves to God, we need to maintain our spiritual life by
practicing all "the spokes of the wheel" of prayer, word, fellowship and witness.
Within the area of our spiritual need there is a paradox (something which seems contradictory)
because in order to satisfy our spiritual needs it is just not just a matter of receiving things from
God but in giving to others. One of the principles that Jesus taught is that, "It is in giving that we
receive." So the spiritual need involves the need to contribute, to invest your life in things
which really matter, and to leave a legacy.

➤➤Special Periods of Imbalance in life:

We have covered all the areas that can bring balance to life. But, we need to understand that
sometimes we are in a stage of life where we can be temporarily unbalanced. This may be
necessary to achieve a special purpose. For example, you as students are not working and
therefore have zero financial income…but you have to do it. You are mainly focusing on the
mental at the expense of developing the financial area. But it is temporary and you will not be
students your whole life…someday you will also want to develop in other areas.

Guided Meditation:

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:34

Let us repeat this passage several times.

Sit comfortably.

Close your eyes. Relax your body. Relax your mind. Take a few deep breaths.

Quiet your mind. When thoughts come to mind, just ask them to move along and don’t dwell
on them.

Now I want you to see yourself as a human that you are a connector between heaven and
earth. We are tasked to bring the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. We belong to both
worlds. Our bodies were made from the dust of the earth and our bodies belong to nature.

Do you feel balanced?

Often what creates an imbalance in our life is worrying about controlling things that are
ultimately out of our control. But, Jesus teaches us, “do not be anxious about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

What is causing you anxiety in the near future?

How is that anxiety disorganizing your ability to do the tasks that you need to get done today?

Release those anxieties, knowing that you cannot control the future, you can do your best to
manage your responsibilities and allow God to lead and guide you.

Thank Him for answering this request.

Allow your thoughts to come back into the class as we wrap up the lesson.

➤➤Conclusion:
In conclusion, we want to repeat our definition of balance: Recognizing and giving proper
attention to each of the important areas of life. Look at your life carefully ...notice all the four
major departments of it…give time to each one…and work on developing the areas where you
are weak.

Let us review our objectives:

(Probe: have students answer how each was addressed in this lesson, give examples)

- Define Balance
- Identify the 4 areas of human need
- Identify the makeup of human beings
- Understand how to bring balance to 4 areas
- Understand how to notice imbalance in 4 areas

Continuing the Discussion:

Have students discuss these questions in their care groups:

- What most impacted you from this lesson?

- What can you do to better balance parts of your life?
- What are some false things that you think you need in order to be “happy” with your
life?
- How does this lesson connect with the lesson of “The Wheel”?