Unbalanced Scales

Romans 4:5  People cannot do any work that will make them right with God.

In other words, the scales will always be unbalanced with our works. We can't work our way to heaven. There is nothing that we can do on our own to impress God with our righteousness. 

• We can attend five Bible Studies per week.
• Attend church every time the doors are open.
• But, that does not make us good enough to make it to Heaven!

•  We can serve in soup kitchens.
• Volunteer in food pantries
•  We can work in homeless shelters,
•  We can do all kinds of good works,
• But, it won't be enough to make it to Heaven. 

• We can give to the poor.
•  We can support all of the right causes
•  We can do any number of good things. 

• But... We can never be good enough on our own merits to make it to Heaven!

The scale will always show our efforts as insufficient. It will always weigh lighter on our side of God's scale because only He can make the scales weigh evenly.

However, there is a way that was provided for us....through Jesus Christ, the righteous! The only way to become righteous is to allow Jesus to come into your life and dwell inside of you. 

Romans 8:33-34

33.  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

34.  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

So, you see we can be righteous! But does that mean that we should not do good works? NO!

James 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 

Out of our lives of faith comes the good works as a result of following the example of the Master, Jesus Christ. He went about doing good wherever He went. However, He did take time away to pray and to rest. 

In the busyness of our lives, our scales can so easily become unbalanced. We are tempted to fill our lives with the good works part and forget the time to get away to pray and rest. I have found that in my own life. If I do not take time to care for myself physically, I will suffer in every other area of my life. If I do not take care of myself spiritually, then everyone else suffers along with me. I cannot be an effective servant for the Master if I am too weary doing good things...ministry related things...and my batteries get drained.

So, what do we need to do?   

                       

Seek balance.

• Look at your schedule. If you are over-committed, your scale will be out of balance.
• Learn to say, "no" to what others want you to do when you know it would be something that could take you away from what is important.
• Learn to relax and laugh.
• Apply what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

That is the key to balance in every area of our lives! Seek Him first...and everything else will fall in place with the right balance.

Thanks for reading.

Donna McHugh