Balancing Act, the Straight & Narrow
What do you think of when you hear the term Balancing Act? Right away most people would think of the tight rope act in a circus. And how balance is mandatory if the person walking the tight rope is to get from one side to the next. Sometimes there is a long pole used to aid in balancing as the person walks from the platform all the way across to the other side of rope. Onlookers are often on pins and needles watching with baited breath, hoping and praying that the person makes it to the other side. Sometimes there’s a net situated right beneath the tight rope so in case the performer falls, the net will catch them. But even with the net there, onlookers really want the tight rope walker to make it across. Some tight rope walkers are more daring and walk across grand canyons and from the top of high buildings to the next. But every tight rope walker has the very same intention or goal. To begin walking the straight and narrow in order to make it to the other side. Have you ever seen a tight rope that goes in circles? Have you ever seen a tight rope too loose to support the weight of the person walking on it? If the rope is too loose, it won’t support the person and there’s no way for the person to maintain balance. If the tight rope is too tight, it could snap because of the tension being too great.
Such as in the Kingdom of God. We as Believers must have the balance of the word of God. We are walking out our salvation desiring to please God. Walking the straight and narrow. The tight rope walker that walks across the Grand Canyon is the person who has a greater responsibility. Doesn’t make them better, they simply carry a greater grace. They have to be more experienced. More mature in the area of ministry or assignment. Tight rope walkers or Believers must have a destination. Otherwise they can continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. Going in circles but never arriving. Going through the motions but never getting anywhere.
What about those who attempt to walk across the tight rope but it’s too loose? These are those who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. Attending church but not living out the true word in their everyday lives. And then you the one who try to walk across, and the rope is too tight. These are the religious folks who preach and teach from a place of tension and law. Too much tension can cause a person to snap.
Think of a tight rope walker, when they begin the journey to the other side, they aren’t looking to the left or the right. They are looking straight ahead. They are focused on the destination. This is how we in the kingdom of God should be. When we are in the middle of situations as Believers, it’s important not to look around us and what’s going on but to keep our eyes focused on the promise. The end. Because bad situations are temporary and when we focus on the destination and not the process, we can become encouraged to keep going.
How do tight rope walkers even learn to begin walking the tight rope in the first place? They start training on the ground. The more training, the more balancing that is perfected, the higher off the ground the tight rope walker goes. Such is so in the kingdom. No matter if a person has just gotten saved or has been walking with the Lord for 30 years, there has to always be balance of the word being walked out in our lives and rightly dividing the word of truth. Without balance, falling is not if, but when. But I want to encourage someone today that grace is sufficient for us. The word is in place to keep us on the straight and narrow. And through obedience He is able to keep us from falling. It’s when the tight rope is too loose that we risk stumbling and falling. But even in that it won’t be the death of us because there is a safety net called grace that catches those who may fall.
Matthew 7:13-14 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
It’s easier to be a spectator. It’s easier to hide in the crowd. But every Believer at some point has to get to the other side. And it takes discipline in God’s word, commitment to our faith. I think about the tight rope walker that carries his family across the rope on his shoulders. They call him the anchor. He has to be the strongest. He’s the leader. The one with the most responsibility. He has been conditioned to get others from one side to the other.
And then you have the tight rope walker who goes first and the other must follow behind. The example that shows those behind Him how to get to the other side. Sounds like Christ. When we follow in His footsteps and do what the word says, and listen to the instruction of Holy Spirit, we are promised to make it to the other side.
Job 23:11 My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.
3. Isaiah 35:8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.
It’s impossible to make it to the other side without having a made-up mind. Think of someone who is drunk trying to walk a straight line, its not possible. Whether someone is drunk off liquor or drunk off pride, drunk off of greed, or lust, or envy whatever it is, it makes you heavy with sin. Holiness keeps us light on our feet. And being light on your feet is what gives yo9u the ability to make it across to the other side.
6. Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Can you imagine being trained to walk the tight rope and the person next to you isn’t paying attention to the instructor? You want to make sure you’re getting all you can, and you have someone goofing off. You have your instructor right there, you call them teacher, you call Him Lord, but you refuse to adhere to the safety instructions. This is what the word of God is for us.
7. John 14:23-24 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
When you love someone, you do all you can to make sure they are safe.
The anchor walking across the tight rope with his entire family on his shoulder is extra careful because he is carrying everyone he loves to the other side. When we are carrying the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are mindful to handle those we are assigned to with care.
9. Matthew 23:28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
There is no hiding place where Holy Spirit can’t reach the true intension of the heart. You can dress up, go to church, carry a bible and even quote scripture but if you aren’t serious about walking out the road of righteousness, you will not make it to the other side.
1 John 3:10
10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
The balancing act of life calls for the Sons of God to do what’s right. And to love one another. How do we obtain this? We must walk the straight and narrow. Knowing that obedience to the word of God will keep us from falling. Knowing that the balancing poll is in place as our support. So when Holy Spirit on the inside of us tilts a little to the right or a little to the left, know it’s for our good and He wants us to stay safe. Clean living causes us to stay light on our feet. Know that our lives are always on display. People will be looking up to see if we can make it to the other side. The goal, the intent is to always make it to the other side. What’s on the other side? Peace, joy, abundant life, glory. Heaven. You can do it. You can make it. He has given us the tools to stay on the path of righteousness. And through Christ, we can accomplish that which we have set out to do.
