You’ve probably seen them at Target or on any new-age exercise advertisement:  Pictures of well-muscled men and women standing abalance on one leg with their other leg up in the air in some uncanny contortion.  This is an advertisment for equanimity, for peace, for balance.  In our society, balance seems to be important.  We have balanced budgets, balanced diets, balanced bodies, balanced funds, balanced everything.  Yet are we a balanced people?  I think not.  People are running around with all manner of electronic devices attached to their bodies, talking to two people at once, working too much, neglecting their kids, their marriages, their health.  Teens and youth spend more time on Twitter and Myface and Spacebook than in real conversations.  Adults are no different.  This is a rare thing, this peace, this balance, this equanimity.

Our church family is experiencing a season where the themes of balance and peace are extremely important.  How do we finish well?  How do we experience life-long commitments?  How do we become true disciples of Jesus and not just part of the crowd?  Much of this relates to the cultivation of peace in our lives.  Are we swept in the mad rush of the culture, even the Christian culture, or are we the blessed peaceful?

The word equanimity comes from the Latin word æquus meaning “even”.  The idea here is that we do not neglect any one area of our life and indulge in another.  Moderation.  I am convinced that this is what keeps us going in the long run.  How can I remain healthy and fit?  By eating moderately and exercising regularly.  How can I keep my emotions and mind balanced?  By resting, by not sitting in front of a TV or computer all day, by not becoming overloaded.  How can I keep my spirit balanced?  By a steady diet of Jesus through Scripture, fellowship, prayer, worship, confession.

One time my family and I were returning from a vacation in our old 1988 Jeep Cherokee.  After many hours of driving with small kids in the back, we were approaching Augusta.  The “low fuel” light came on.  I was tired…the kids were complaining…common sense said to pull over, but as I told my wife Jennifer “We’re at exit 1!  Just 4 more miles and we’re home!  We can make it!”  The man thinks he’s always right……..but not this time.  Just after my little optimistic speech was delivered, the Jeep started sputtering, gasping for fumes of petrol as we sped down the interstate.  We ended up coasting onto exit 1, just a few miles from our house, coasting to a complete stop on the side of the road in fact.  Out of gas, my mighty 4×4 beast was immobilized.  I had failed to listen to my wife, to read the gauges, and now the result was further frustration, tired kids, and a long walk to the nearest gas station.  One little detail, out of balance, affected everything else.  A great vacation ended poorly because I was in a hurry.

What’s the moral of the story?  Check your gauges.  Stay in balance.  If one area of my life burns out, it won’t be long before everything else follows.  A clean well-maintained Jeep without any gas isn’t going anywhere.  A person can spend hours in the gym, but if they neglect their marriage, it will crumble.  A person can be a terrific dad or mom, but if our relationship with God is neglected, we will run out of patience and have nothing to offer them.  So it is in any part of our life.  As Paul told the church in Thessalonica, if we spend all our time being spiritual but don’t work, we don’t deserve to eat!  So balance is required in all things.

My wife Jennifer says something to me often:  “Remember Jeff, slow and steady wins the race!”  Given my idealistic pioneering personality, I need the wisdom of this statement to ground me.

I urge the reader today to slow down and look at your life.  Are you balanced?  Are you close to burn-out?  Will you finish well?  As individuals and as a church, let us be diligent in our pursuit of this rare trait:  Equanimity.