I don’t know exactly where I learned this but I’ve always had the impression that being a “balanced” person is the goal of life. I feel like church people really believe it as if “balance” is a fruit of the Spirit that Paul just sort of forgot to mention or something. The assumption seems to be that extremes are bad and balance is good.  I’ve been told that I’m too “intense” a lot in my life as if I should somehow just cool out because intensity is a problem. I’ve always been told to work on skills that I’m weak in so that I can be more “well rounded” (that sounds fun) as if being mediocre and relatively ineffective at a lot of things is better than being extremely skilled and highly effective in a few.

To be honest the whole thing has always annoyed the heck out of me because every instinct in me is for extremes. So I thought I’d check out the Bible and see what it has to say about balance and I found that it’s not there! Not one time. Ever. The truth is the Scriptures always call for aggressive extremes. Here are just a few…

The Bible calls for an aggressive and extreme heart for God.

We should love God with ALL of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Matthew 22:37). Jesus said we are to “worship the Lord your God and serve him ONLY (Matthew 4:10). The Psalmist has an extreme passion and desire for God:

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness (Psalm 84:10).

Our whole heart should be taken up in love for God with mighty strength and we’re supposed to worship God exclusively. Our desire for him should be intense. Here are just a few more examples:

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1-2).

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1).

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You (Psalm 63:3).

Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth (Psalm 73:25).

My soul is crushed with longing after Your ordinances at all times (Psalm 119:20).

There is no balance in that. It’s extreme and aggressive. The truth is that Israel was balanced. Their approach was a little love for the Lord, a little love of Baal and a little worship at the Asherah poles. And the Lord didn’t count their “balanced” heart as a virtue.

All of life is driven by the heart and God means for the heart to be extremely unbalanced for the Him. The obvious implication is that a “balanced” life would come from a “balanced” heart which, in other less generous terms, would be a luke-warm heart. That doesn’t sound at all like what I read in Scripture.

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