How are we supposed to live a balanced life? I have been struggling with this question for a long time and I think this is a topic which many people find difficult. I see people who have great careers and are wealthy, but are not happy, and then on the other hand I see people who are very spiritual, but are poor and do not seem to be prospering in either their finances or health. I have searched scripture, science and the writings of philosophers and concluded that life can be broken down into around seven areas, the general testimony being that it is possible to be fulfilled and successful in each one. The areas are spiritual, physical, intellectual, social, vocational, financial and recreational. Although these seven areas reoccur, they can be further simplified into four areas that were present from the creation of man.

1. Spiritual [Relationship with God] = Gen 2:7
2. Vocational [Our work] = Gen 2:15
3. Physical [Our health] = Gen 2:16,17
4. Social [Relationships with others] = Gen 2:18, 21-25

God has a particular plan for the way we live our lives and it is by following this plan that we can live the most fruitful life (John 15:5,10,11). It is because people do not follow this plan that they undergo pain and suffering and cause others to experience the same. In the old times, God gave Moses the book of the law to provide guidance for his people and although we are not bound to do everything in that law now, God does not change and therefore still has principles of wisdom which we can follow to live an abundant life.

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, … Let all things be done decently and in order. 1Co 14:33,40

Within this plan, there is a specific order of doing things, this post discusses the order and provides an introduction to further posts which will go into more detail into each one of the four areas above. The word order denotes sequence, arrangement, line up. But it also suggests tidiness, neatness, peace and control. Although God has a plan for our lives, he has things in a specific arrangement, and by following this arrangement, our lives will be peaceful, tidy and we will feel a sense of control.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Mat 6:33

It is first important that we are connected to God because he is the one who has given us life in the first place, he is the one who created us and knows what our purpose is on this planet. Without putting God first, we have to guess our way through life which leads to confusion. The word Babylon translates confusion, Babylon is not only a corporate large scale system, but it is also a personal mindset which comes from not putting God first in our lives. The first thing which is important to understand, is that we are God’s children, created in his image and that we are to love him, communicate with him and obey him.

Once God had finished creating Adam in his image, he put him straight to work looking after the garden of Eden. Eden is a hebrew word which translates to the word pleasure in the English language. After knowing him, the first thing God wanted for Adam was to gain enjoyment in life through his work. The scripture says that Adam was to ‘dress’ the garden, which means to work it to make it fruitful, and secondly he was to ‘keep it’ which means to watch over it, protect, guard and save it. It is therefore God’s design that we should live for God and then live to work, and this work should be pleasurable and involve using the earth to provide products for our use, while looking after it and protecting it from being damaged. Work is important because it helps us to reflect the image of our father. God is a worker, and as God works to look after the universe that he created, he created us in his image to rule and look after the world he has given us. Working gives us the opportunity to follow in his footsteps and grow into his image. In God’s simplistic model, finance is intertwined with work. Once one works according to God’s plan, he will be rewarded with he means he needs to sustain himself, furthermore, if he also follows the direction to be a diligent ‘keeper’ he will be wise with what he has acquired without wasting his resources.

The third essential area in life is health, after introducing him to his work God shows Adam what he should eat (Gen 2:16) specifying that his diet should consist of fruits and vegetables (Gen 1:29) some of which would enable him to live forever (Gen 3:22). Why is it that God tells Adam about his plan for his health after he has put him to work? There are some key reasons for this, in God’s eyes health is only a means to an end and not an end in itself. It is God’s desire that we are healthy so that we can fulfill our purpose of looking after the world and spending time with him. It is important that food is addressed in this particular order because in todays society, people make food a priority, either on one extreme where people are trying to be super healthy prioritising food choices, fitness and personal appearance and then on the other extreme there are people who live to eat and are fat, unhealthy and obese. Jesus is very clear in his teaching on food, he says

“do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive” … “After all, isn’t life worth more than food?” Mat 6:25

God put work first because it gives us the correct focus, enjoyable work takes our mind away from survival, food and physical appearance and in doing this, we actually gain peace of mind and receive health as a by product. Furthermore, work provides us with the means, to get food, whether like Adam the first farmer, we grow it directly, or like Jesus and Paul we work to earn money to buy food for ourselves. This really brings Paul’s statement in 2 Thess 3:10 into context:

“if man would not work, neither should he eat”

The final essential area of life is the relationships we have with other human beings. But the interesting question is, why does God put relationships last? Why didn’t God create Adam with another human and put them to work together in the first place? The answer is simple, yet profound. God is primarily interested in our personal one on one relationship with him. He is eternally interested in each one of us being connected to him, living with him and being like him. Revelation 4:11 says

“for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”

God created us for his pleasure. This may sound very selfish and in a way it is, but this helps to explain why God says that he is a jealous God, he wants us for himself, he does not want to share us with anyone else. God created the animals two by two, but he created man different, he created him alone so that he could be Adam’s first and best friend.

God has designed us to be socially wired and it is a proven fact that social connections are the most powerful force on this planet. No man has changed the world by himself, but it is in groups that people have impacted the world for the amazing good or for total destruction. The influence other people have on us is very strong. Science has proven that the same neural pathways that respond when we receive physical pain are also triggered when we receive rejection, social loss and emotional pain (Link for social). We hate to loose people or be separated from them, and this is even shown in the first sin where Adam chose to eat the fruit because he thought he would loose Eve. God has wired us this way because he wants us to depend on each other, but he understands the mighty force of social connections and therefore has put it in its rightful place as the last essential area in the human essentials.

The priority is that we have a strong connection with God, he will then direct us to our individual purpose and work on this earth, our health will be sustained and finally, when we are directed by God on the three first paths, we will be able to identify the people he brings into our life who will help us in each of these three areas. This is the fundamental reason for social relationships and none other. The reason we see so much misery in this world is because people put others before Gods plan for their lives and get drawn astray into paths that are not for them. Social pressures often lead people away from their spiritual values, influence them to do work they are not suited for, and what is the reason why most people get involved in health destroying habits…peer pressure. This is why it is critical to lock down the three areas before we choose those we want to spend our time with. This will inevitably mean that we must spend time alone. Being alone with ourselves is often a very daunting task, however, the most powerful characters in the bible all spent time alone, Moses before he went back to Egypt, David in the fields with the sheep, Paul in Arabia, Jesus in the wilderness etc etc etc. This time away from people allows us to focus on building our foundation, empowering us to be able to choose the right people when the time comes. The friends we choose determine our destiny and it is essential that we choose people who are going in the direction we want to head.

It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Gen 2:18

Just to emphasise, it is not encouraged to become a hermit, it is important to spend time alone, to gain direction and clarity in each area of our lives. However, after spending time alone we will reach a limiting wall, whereby it will be necessary to get the involvement of others to take us to the next level. This may be through receiving inspiration by helping others get to the level we have achieved or by seeking others who have achieved more in the area we are trying to build. Social relationships have the effect of multiplying what we already have. We attract those who are like us and if we are confused and angry, we will attract other confused and angry people and the confusion and anger will be multiplied. On the other hand if we have spent time alone with God, have figured out our foundation and then get together with other people with the same mindset, we can both help each other to grow in a powerful way.

In summary, God has a wonderful plan for each of our lives and he has an order for this plan. There are four essential areas in each of our lives but it is important that we address them in their correct order. As young people, we are trying to find ourselves and build a solid foundation for our future. It is essential, that we first focus on building our relationship with God and getting a strong spiritual foundation, then once we have done this, it is then important that we find God’s calling for our lives in terms of the vocational work he wants us to do on this earth. Following this, we should focus on perfecting our health and interacting with others, which will have the effect of multiplying everything we have done in each of the other areas. A practical day to day implementation of this order could look like:

1. Spending time with God, praying and reading scripture every morning before doing anything else.
2. Going to work with God in mind, working hard through the day,
3. Going to the gym, training or cooking after work
4. Eat a tasty meal with some like minded friends or family

On a larger scale that could take from a few months to a number of years to complete, the plan could look like this:

1. Reading the entire bible through and becoming certain about your faith.
2. Finishing your education and getting into an exciting career path
3. Getting your health and body to the level you really happy with
4. Finding a like-minded partner you love and want to get married to.

If you have gotten this far, thank you so much for reading, I want to let you know that this is not a final authority, but just some of my ideas, thoughts and things I am going try and implement in my life. Please let me know what you think, have you tried this order? Did it work for you? Do you have any suggestions on how things could be improved? Anyway, thanks again, and please leave comments below.