Balance Is Not a Contradiction

God is a God of mercy. God is a God of justice. 

God is a God of honor. God is a God of meekness.

God is a God of self-control. God is a God of excess. 

Is any of this making sense to you? It should. 

Have you ever had to discipline your child but felt in your heart you had to be merciful? You didn't want to crush him, but you had to teach him by way of natural consequences. So, let's go all 1960s and say the Beav smashed a neighbor's window with a line drive right under the clothesline even though he was told to play ball in the park down the street. Justice says he works off the cost of replacing the window. You speak with the neighbor and come to a suitable agreement: Beav will mow the neighbor's grass and run to the store for her each week for the entire summer. He learns his lesson mercifully but justly.

Have you ever worked really hard at something, achieved the goal of a lifetime? Maybe your friends are so excited for you, they throw a soiree in your honor. You've earned it! they say. And you have; it is well-deserved. But you don't lord it over others. You are humbled by the graciousness and kindness of your friends. Even though you have achieved something they probably never will, you care for them, you appreciate them. Your relationship with them means more to you than your title or status.

Have you ever committed to achieving better health? You consult your doctor, you begin working out regularly, you give up coffee and chocolate cake (your two favorite indulgences), you take your meds consistently, and you get plenty of sleep. You're seeing results, feeling better! The day comes when your best friend graduates from culinary school. She has prepared an amazing flourless chocolate cake, so thick and rich and dark-- I digress. She pairs it with a St. Helena Blackheart Espresso. It's extravagant, almost too, but this is your best friend, and she has longed to share this moment with you. You are more than generous in your praise as you indulge, savoring every chocolatey bite, every spicy sip. Without being reckless or gluttonous or disingenuous, you lavishly pour out your acclaim with each euphoric smile and epicurean sigh. This is a demonstration --a necessary demonstration of excess and bounteousness in a person of self-control.

Now these are imperfect examples, of course, but as near as I am able to describe some of the "apparent conflicts" in the character of God. God does not lie; God does not contradict Himself; God is the same yesterday, today and forever. There are no conflicts. He is a God of peace and order. And we are to be imitators of Him. We are to walk balanced lives, enjoying the sensuous blessings He has given us: the feel of the sun on our skin, the sound of appreciation from the lips of our friends, the softness of a rabbit's fur, the nutty flavor of arugula, the smell of freshly cut grass, our lover's kiss, the soreness of our muscles after a hard day of work, the feel of tears drying on our face after a good cry, the giggles of children playing. But we are not to lie in the sun until our skin is sore and bubbling, or achieve just to receive the praises of men, or pluck the fur from a bunny that we might possess its softness, or eat arugula exclusively, or sit for hours smelling grass while we neglect to do our work, or find a lover just so we might share his kiss, or work to injury, or make others cry that they might experience the feeling of their evaporating tears, or allow our children unmoderated play simply because they find it amusing and you revel in their amusement. 

Balance is essential, not denying ourselves exuberance or restraint. He made us human; He gave us senses and emotions. He made us in His image, giving us purpose and responsibility as well. We are stewards and sojourners, givers and receivers, keeping our eyes on Him and our choices in alignment with His character.