Why Balance is So Important
Lessons from the book of Daniel, Chapter 9
Daniel sees himself in solidarity with sinful people and says, “Lord, we have sinned. We have done wickedly. We have not obeyed your law.”
Do you remember the rich young ruler? He asked Jesus, “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?” In other words, “I know there’s something missing in my life. I want to know. What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said, “You know the commandments.”
“Yes, I’ve kept all of those since I was a boy.”
Do you think this young man had really kept all the commandments? He sincerely thought he had. He really thought he was doing a good job. He knew there was something lacking, and he wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he thought he was doing a good job.
This is why balance is so important. I am a new creature in Christ. I am forgiven. I am set apart, and because of Jesus’ righteousness, I am holy. This is all true, but I’ll tell you something else about me. I have a sin nature. The Bible tells me I have to put this sin nature to death daily. However, if this reality becomes the only reality I see, a preoccupation with my sin nature, I won’t have victory.
I must also learn my identity in Christ. However, if my identity in Christ becomes the sole focus of my spiritual eyes to the extent that I neglect confession of sin and ongoing repentance, I won’t be a spiritually mature person.
We must see both our identity in Christ and our ongoing battle against sin. And we must understand that we only achieve victory over sin in Christ. The devil is a judo expert, and he would rather you either be preoccupied with your sin or that you live in denial concerning your sin.
Have you ever met someone who is in obvious denial about their own sin and what is going on in their life? Sometimes it manifests itself as they yell in harsh tones at you, “I’m not angry.” You want to say, “But you do such a good imitation of how an angry person acts.” Sometimes people misspeak when they say, “I want you to make the decision. Whatever you want, it doesn’t matter to me at all.” Perhaps, you’ve wanted to respond to someone who has said this to you, “Please. Give me a break. You know that’s not true. You do know that’s not true, don’t you?”
What the person meant to say was, “This should be your decision to make, and I shouldn’t try to influence you.” Often, this is what is really meant, and it would be so nice if we could just say what we mean and mean what we say. We don’t think it through. We want to feel differently, so we try to communicate what we think we should feel, rather than the truth. Sometimes, when we care greatly, we still feel compelled to say, “I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me at all. It’s your decision.”
“Hurt? Oh no, my feelings weren’t hurt. I just have something in my eye. I’m sorry.”
We need to be honest. This includes being honest about our sins, and this includes being honest with ourselves. Don’t just confess the sins of others. Confess your own sins, and pray for mercy.
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