Balance: good or bad?

Balance is a big word, and many people talk about it as something very important and necessarily for our lives. I want to share whether balance is good or bad in our context of daily Christian living (especially as students).

A few years ago during our CCF sharing night, a few brothers shared their views on "balance", To be honest, I don't remember exactly what they said, so I am just summarizing from what I remembered... (it was kinda funny remembering their sharing)

• Brother alpha: Balance is good. It is important because a student is involved in many activities so it is key to know how much time to spend in each.
• Brother beta: Balance is boring, it is like being in equilibrium. Unbalance is good because you are pushed to one direction, to work towards something you are passionate about.
• Brother gamma: Variety is important. You need to invest in different activities to enrich your life.
• Brother lambda: Focus is important. That is the primordial aspect, to focus on what important, and then you will know how to invest your time.

I agree that all these points are valid. But the word "balance" does not sit too well in me, because it can be dangerously applied. Sometimes balance can be interpreted as a state of equilibrium or a "perfect" state without signs of exhaustion or difficulties. Some people can see balance as an equal percentage of time invested in God, ministries, school, family, friends. And I disagree with these.

By summarizing my brothers' opinions, I believe that the proper mindset is to focus on God (Col. 3:1-2) above anything. Never compromise your relationship with God, and if that happens you should take a step back and evaluate your life. As we grow in intimacy with God, we start to understand His will, our minds and visions are aligned, and our heart yearns for what God wants. The Holy Spirit will drive you to pursue what God has stored for you, and you will be challenged to take steps faith to do His will. You also acquire wisdom that will help you discern what it is best in each situation (Phil. 1:9-11).

It is very important to know yourself better, to know your gifts, strengths, and weaknesses. This will allow you to set your priorities accordingly and determine how much you can handle so that you won't do too little or too much. Don't be afraid to push yourself to the limit if God tells you, because He provides and His grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9). At the same time, rest assured that God will not give you more than you can handle.

It is important to spend time in reflection in a constant basis. As humans, we are prone to make mistakes, and our focus can shift, so it is important to calibrate our minds :)

To conclude, I think Christian life is not about balance, but about the right focus on God. He will guide you and give you wisdom so that you can discern what is best. Remember, God works for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Why koino-warrior?

My home youth fellowship is named "Koinonia" which is the Greek word for "fellowship" used in Acts 2:42. It is in that youth fellowship that I experienced God's love for the first time. I remembered how shocked I was when this fellowship showed so much care and had an authentic interest in me, a complete stranger. That is how God found me.

As I grew in this fellowship, I was always encouraged to see the unity and community within the group despite the wide range of age (includes middle school to university). I was challenged by the sense of common-ship and selflessness. Anyone was willing to supply any needs that any other member required. It definitely brings back good memories :)

I also had the privilege to serve in the servant group (committee) as the chairperson during my last year in Guatemala (before coming to the legendary land of Waterloo). It was extremely challenging, and I faced many struggles and remembered getting burned out.

But I learned a very valuable lesson as a leader. The same lesson I am relearning now while serving in the CCF committee. It is so easy to be caught up with the ministry itself and the logistics, that I can forget that I am serving real people. It is so rewarding to be a people-oriented leader who truly cares for the welfare and health of the people. For sure it takes time to invest and care for people, but the joy of forming relationships, to get to know people more, to be part of their lives, to mutually encourage one another in Christ, and to take partnership in the gospel is an amazing experience for the human being.

Because the existence of "fellowship" has taught me so much that I want others to experience the same goodness from God through fellowshipping with brothers and sisters. This is a cause that I fight for. Therefore, I decided to use "koino" (which is a short form of "koinonia") and "warrior" which expresses my intent.

A true leader cares and acts on behalf of the people who are entrusted to him/her.

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." 1 Peter 5:2-3

Reasons

This is my first blog. I have been tempted to start a blog a while ago but always hesitated. Perhaps I don't want to leave any traits of my person online (one of the reasons I don't have facebook). But I also realized that there are things that I would love to share to my friends. Whether it is just random stuff in my life, deep realizations, Scripture, songs, or anything that God has been teaching me. I am old-school, and I like sharing in person and also support personal correspondence (through email and mail haha).

Yesterday I couldn't sleep. I went to bed at 1:30am, but was rolling on my bed till 3am. During all that time I was just thinking of many things that God has taught me throughout these years in Waterloo. And there was such a sudden urge to share that to other people. I was asking God, "why you are putting such burden in me in such a late time of the night?" haha. I realized that starting a blog might be the best course of action.

So I have decided to blog, and my hope is that this blog can be encouraging to you. I hope that this blog can be used to edify the body of Christ so that we can mutually push one another to higher levels of maturity in Christ and invest more in God's Kingdom. At the end of the day it is not me, but God who works in me.

Mainly, I will be sharing about insights, realizations, and topics related to my walk with Jesus. I will post some random stuff about myself for entertaining purposes =).