One of the most influential theologians of the early church was Augustine of Hippo Regius (known today as Annaba, Algeria). He spent his youth studying rhetoric at Carthage; and in his leisure, pursued the wild pleasures of an admittedly hedonistic life. However, in the summer of 386 A.D., he underwent a profound personal crisis, which led him to convert to Christianity, abandon his career in rhetoric, quit his teaching position in Milan, and devote himself entirely to serving God and to the practices of the priesthood. He chronicles this radical transformation in a work titled The Confessions of Saint Augustine, which is widely acknowledged as the first Western autobiography ever written!

During one section of the Confessions, Augustine argues that nothing in this world is evil, in and of itself. Evil, suggests Augustine, is simply a distortion of the good, a disordering of the precious gifts of life. Personally, I’m not sure if I would go quite that far. It seems to me that some things are unmistakably evil. However, I do see the point that he is trying to make.

Consider, for example, someone who restores antique cars as a hobby. Now, no one would call such an activity inherently evil. If anything, we would probably admire how this person is able to take an old, beat-up jalopy and, with consummate skill and artistry, get it running again and return it to its former glory. However, if this same person neglected his or her family in the process, and never had time for friends, neighbors, or God, then we might conclude that this person’s obsession with refurbishing automobiles had become destructive and malevolent.

In other words, what Augustine is pointing out is that even noble activities can prove dangerously iniquitous, if they are assigned an inappropriate priority in our lives. The goal, he argues, is to maintain a life of balance.

That’s easier said than done, of course. Even in my own life, there have been occasions when ministry came at the expense of my family. Hence, a good thing (service to the church) turned into a bad thing (an absentee husband and father). One of my daughters even went as far as to check the column in the Friendship Pad indicating, “Would like a call from the pastor.” Ouch!

Life is a constant juggling act, and rarely will we be able to keep all of the balls up in the air for very long. Despite our best efforts, things will get dropped or fall to one side. Thus, the secret to maintaining a balanced life may not be in striving for perfect balance at any given moment, but rather, in seeking an overall balance. If you have a particular week that demands 14-hour days in the office, then do what is required of you. But make sure, in the following week, that you intentionally schedule some time with the family, or for yourself.

Short-term imbalances in life are inevitable; long-term imbalances are costly—and they can often turn even the most worthwhile of pursuits into something destructive!