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presented by Jennifer Miller
Lately, I’ve been thinking about work-life balance and the traps in thinking we get tangled up in regarding this. I know not everyone has my bent or personality, so maybe this doesn’t apply to you, but one of my greatest traps in thinking about work-life balance is my desire for a formula to follow.
I really just want someone to sit down and say, “Okay, Jennifer, here is your perfect schedule. If you follow this plan, everything will work out and be balanced. Spend this much time in the Word each day, this much time each month having family fun, serve in church in this ministry every other week, meal plan like this, and use this perfect planner to make all your dreams a success.”
There are many voices out there who promise the perfect formula for a meaningful life. Often, they have great tips, but no matter what I try, I leave frustrated because there are too many formulas and none fit perfectly.
This frustration has led me to resonate deeply with Matthew 22:34-40.
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
To give you a little context, this story comes after several questions that have been posed to Jesus in order to trap him. The religious rulers of the day are fed up and feel threatened, so they work to trap him in his words so people will see he is not worth following.
The only problem is every time they ask him a question, he answers it so well that his following only increases, adding to their frustration. So, here the Pharisees are pondering: What question would totally trap Jesus? And here is the question they come up with: What is the greatest commandment in the law?
Now when I read that, I’m left wondering, why is that such a tricky question? I can think of a lot of hot button topics that would be harder to answer in our day, but at this time, this was a very divisive question. The Pharisees’ whole mission was to uphold God’s rules, all 613 of them from the Torah. They cared so much about keeping those rules that they made another set of rules to help people keep God’s rules.
But there were other groups who disagreed about which rules were most important. So, asking Jesus to pick a rule would automatically offend some group. Now what does this have to do with you and me? I often come to God in prayer burdened by all the items I have on my to do list—all of the good things I want to get done, all of the amazing ideas I’ve heard other people do to have joy and satisfaction—and I sit looking at all these little pieces feeling overwhelmed and overloaded. Like the Pharisees, I tend to focus on all the to-dos. I like rules, I like formulas, and I can come in prayer in a sense praying, “Just tell me what to do today, Jesus.”
How does Jesus respond to this question? Jesus did 2000 years ago what AI is only now beginning to do today. Maybe you have benefitted from AI’s ability to sort through massive amounts of information and quickly provide a summary of the most important parts. Well, in a sense, Jesus does something similar. He knew every law God had ever given, and from all the information in the Law and from knowing God personally, he sorts through all that information and gives a perfect and succinct summary of God’s requirements.
Jesus says all God calls us to can be summed up as “love God and love people.” In fact, he says all the other commands hang on these two. That is an interesting picture, isn’t it? Imagine that you work in a clothing store and are given 613 coats. Your boss tells you to display the coats on a front wall, and you just stare at each and every coat. There are so many—it’s overwhelming! How can you possibly manage them? But then a coworker comes and installs two massive rods into the beams of the wall. These rods are strong and can support the weight of the coats, so all the coats can be hung and displayed from them.
That is what Jesus says about these two commands to love God and love your neighbor. Instead of giving a formula ranking each command in order, Jesus gives us two principles that guide all of life. It is as if God has given us two secure and strong hooks that everything else hangs on. All the other commandments hang on these two.
When we think about all the things in life we want to do or feel pressured to do, it is like 613 coats scattered on the floor, but Jesus comes and says, “Look, focus on just two things—loving God and loving others. Hang the to-dos of your life on these, and all will be well.”
The life you have been called to live is a life of love. That is the priority Jesus gives. Even good things like your job or serving in church or caring for your home, if they are not hanging from the hook of love, they do not please God. Whatever we do must be rooted in love. Isn’t it amazing how Jesus lifts our eyes off the million and one things we have on our plates, and gives us two things to focus on? That’s more manageable. It’s not that all the tasks of life suddenly disappear, but they are rightly hung on the greatest pursuit which is love.
So, let’s take a moment to ponder what this means for your daily life and mine. What does it mean to love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind? I think the key word here is all. This love for the Lord should encompass all of who we are. This loves shapes all we do, say, think, and choose.
Now you may be thinking, sure, I love God, but that is a feeling. How does it actually affect my schedule? How you choose to spend the time you are given reveals the priorities of your heart. As you think about your schedule, does it reflect that you love God above all else? That he is the #1 priority in your life? Do you carve out and guard time to commune with him each day through listening to his voice through his Word and responding to him in prayer?
While your love for God is not limited to the time you spend with him in this way, choosing to actively commune with him is a marker of healthy love. The nourishment and love we receive from him is then meant to fuel how we live every minute of the day. Whether you are working, making dinner, meeting with a friend, cleaning the house, or putting a child to bed, your love for God affects your work. It gives it purpose and direction.
The second hook Jesus gives is directly linked to the first. If you are loving God with all of you, you will love your neighbor as yourself. In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus redefines your neighbor to be anyone you encounter. Think about the circle of relationships God has given you. The closest circle is your immediate family, and generally speaking, they should be the focus of your greatest care and energy. Think for a moment, what would be the most loving thing you could do for your husband this week? Or for your kids? Or for your closest relationship? Prioritize that.
Then keep thinking about the circles in your life. Think of the people you come in contact with at work, at church, in the neighborhood, friends. Prioritize who God has given to you to love most in this season and think about how your time should reflect that love. You know, we cannot be all our husbands, kids, friends, family, and acquaintances need. That is the Lord’s job, not ours, but we can respond to the specific call to love others in practical ways.
These two commands to love God and love others are not just vague ideas. Jesus lived them out perfectly. His ministry was all about loving God through obedience and proclaiming his glory and loving people by serving, healing, encouraging, and liberating. But the most striking example ever provided of loving God and loving others was seen at the cross.
There Jesus demonstrated his love for the Father by following his plan obediently even to a torturous death, and Jesus demonstrated his love for the world by taking the punishment of sinners upon himself to bring salvation. This is the kind of love that is a life-giving, sacrificial, total, the hold-nothing-back kind of love, and Jesus calls you and me to this as well.
As you consider your time, what is the priority? Is it love? Would you join me as I pray for us to be marked not by worldly success and productivity but by love?
Dear Lord, we come to you now and lay all of our tasks and responsibilities at your feet. You have made us finite beings with limitations. As we seek to use the time you have given, may we prioritize loving you and loving others for the glory of your name. Amen.
