We're too safe in America - too tepid.  You can believe anything; just don't believe it too strongly.  According to Barna, we prioritize our children's academics and sports above true spirituality.  And then, we're distraught at the society we've created and place hope in our politicians to fix it.

We need to recover our passion. God, our creator, loves us and died for us - it's a deeply personal fact and should disabuse us of our talk of a "balanced life."

Passionate people aren't balanced.

We've prioritized balance over passion.  A few passionate people (about 19) brought revolution to Cuba after 60 of their number were wiped out in a battle.  A few passionate people have always brought revolution.  It was passion that kept a handful of Jesus' disciples waiting for the Holy Spirit to come after he died, and it is an echo of that passion that incited a revolution of the heart that lives on in us today.

I've long believed that we need more passion than we need balance.  Today I read that in A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God.  Here are some things it says:

The Bible nowhere calls for us to have a balanced life.  The heroes of the faith were obedient to God's call but not balanced.

When we're juggling competing priorities, our ultimate goal is not to be perfectly balanced.  The goal is to fulfill God's calling without falling over.

We each have a unique calling and role to play.  Playing our role well sometimes demands being out of balance somewhere else.

Life goes through seasons and each season has its own special responsibilities and assignments. Ask:

1. What season is this?

2. What does God want me to do today?
3. Is anything so out of balance that it's harming my health, relationships, or walk with God?

Appropriate balance can't be defined by a schedule or a checklist.  It's defined by that sweet spot where we're pursuing whatever helps us play out our role better, avoiding whatever sidetracks us or causes us to fail, and ignoring most of the rest.