For Sunday August 7, 2022:
CHECK YOUR BALANCES
Acts 20:28 (NKJV)
Therefore take heed to yourselves.
A bank recently advertised its services with the words “Check your balances.” Using online tools, customers can instantly check the balances on any and all of their accounts.
Perhaps you need to take a moment today to check your balances in another sense. There’s the private you and the public you, and one of the secrets to good mental health is keeping the two in balance. Jesus ministered to the multitudes, and then He withdrew to the wilderness to be alone. Few of us want to be monks or nuns who retreat to desolate cells or adopt vows of silence. But if we’re always surrounded by noise and people, we’ll not have the necessary quiet to recharge our batteries and remain fresh and strong.
Our need for independence is balanced by our need for interaction, and our craving for solitude is matched by a need for society.
If you’re too much alone, do something about it today. Volunteer. Make a phone call. Invite someone to tea. Get out and go to church. Knock on your neighbor’s door with a plate of cookies.
If you’re too rushed and busy, slow down a little. Take time for Bible reading. Take a little stroll through the park with your Bible in hand, and find a sunny bench where you can sit and read awhile. Take heed to yourself—and check your balances.
Lord, grant me the blessing of a balanced life!
DAVID JEREMIAH
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 