on moderation and slacking...

MODERATION

"Men driven by ambition often succeed outwardly and fail inwardly.

"Their outward resources multiply at the cost of their spiritual energy. Yet they go blindly forward with small consideration that happy leisure is worth more than drive; for nothing belongs to us excepts time. Precious existence is squandered in stupid drudgery.

"Overwork is the mother of greed and the substitute of boredom.

"Be not crushed under success; and be not crushed under envy! To be so is to trample upon life and suffocate the spirit. Enjoy a little more, strive a little less. The wise man extends his life's work to prolong his life."^

At age 70, can you imagine anyone lamenting: "If only I had spent more time at the office and less time at home with my wife and kids!"

Hardly.

So... just what is success?

Well, to win the track and field event known as the "pentathlon," it is not necessarily triumphing in any one of the five events that guarantees the prize. Rather, it is adequately excelling in each event well enough to garner the highest aggregate score.

So it is in the game of life": Success may be defined as placing God at the center of our lives, and then balancing the remaining competing demands:

Family - Ministry - Career - Personal, and _______________ (you fill in the blank)

Like a teenager surfing the waves of Waikiki, maintaining balance in life is the continual act of adroitly adjusting to life's changing demands and circumstances. The ability to understand the balance, and then respond by making the necessary adjustments is only possible by maintaining a clear orientation to Biblical values and priorities.

Perhaps Solomon's wise counsel is appropriate here:

"Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint." (Proverbs 23:4)

From July 22 entry in Dwight Hill, Facts of the Matter: Daily Devotions for the Marketplace, IMprint Edition, 2004.

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SLACKING

One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys - Proverbs 18:9

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^ Baltasar Gracian, as adapted by J. Leonard Kaye in The Wisdom of Baltasar Gracian, Pocket books, 1992, page 152. Baltasar Gracian was a sixteenth century Jesuit priest!