Weekly Thought – August 5, 2025
Fred made no effort to excel at all endeavors. He established his core values early in life and designed his goals to be in sync with them. He had clear priorities and held to them in respect to the investment of his time, energy, and financial resources.
Viewing Our Values
The simple life is balanced. It is not necessarily devoid of tensions, but the stresses are balanced. The wife of my good friend John Bullock told me she always wanted her husband to have two irritations at a time. Why? Because, while having one just about drove him crazy, with two he could oscillate between them and keep his balance. She was a wise woman.
If our core values were manifested physically we could see the grotesqueness of imbalance. Years ago I saw a man with elephantitis. It was hard not to notice his distorted features. I started thinking about the impact if our value systems resulted in a physical representation. What if people could see externally who we are internally? What would a person given over to greed look like? How difficult would it be to overlook the deformity of self-absorption, uncontrolled lust, or unchecked ambition? On the other hand, we often do see an external demonstration of self-sacrifice, loyalty, truthfulness, and love, don’t we? Have you ever thought about the external presentation of your values?
Great sculpture has to be balanced. Skilled artists can look at a mass of stone or clay and see where the center of gravity is – where the balance exists. A mistake can result in destruction of that balance and cause artistic disaster. Purpose is shown through the balanced life, just as the purpose of the artist’s material is displayed through his capable, disciplined work.
Remember the great story of the statue of David? When Michaelangelo was asked how he carved such a splendid work out of a flawed piece of marble. “Simple,” he replied. “I just cut away everything that wasn’t David.” A balanced, healthy life is the result of having a values vision and consistently cutting away everything that doesn’t fit. Sometimes it is tedious, even sacrificial, but it is essential. A life driven by Godly values reflects the nature of the Holy.
Balance doesn’t mean devoting equal energy and resources to each and every endeavor… that would pull us apart. Identifying our purpose and designing life habits to maximize our gifts creates a life of beauty. Living with values that allow our outer person to reflect our inner being results in consistency.
This week think carefully about: 1) How satisfied am I with the inner person’s values? 2) What can I do this week to bring beauty to my purpose? 3) Where do I need to rebalance?
Words of Wisdom: “Balance doesn’t mean devoting equal energy and resources to each and every endeavor… that would pull us apart.”
Wisdom from the Word: “An honorable man makes honorable plans; his honorable character gives him security.” (Isaiah 32:8 NET Bible)