By Domenick Epps

Balance is defined as an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady, a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.

So I think over the possibility of having a balanced life. How is balance possible when everything and everyone carries a different weight and there is no life textbook on how to correctly proportion the various components of one’s life? God, of course, is the scale, as nothing compares to Him.

How do we teach someone to have a balanced life? What do we say to the shipyard worker who just got married and is working six and sometimes seven days a week, 12 hours a day? The Old Testament Law stated that a newly married man must take off an entire year from work and stay at home to cheer his wife.

That meant both were home and not working. Would you recommend that approach as a possible solution to the ever-increasing divorce rate? Some would say such a lifestyle would actually send them to divorce court broke and angry. But studies show it’s the lack of communication and not the lack of finances that’s the No. 1 cause of divorce.

A renowned philanthropist said he understands each day he is going to fail at something. What’s important, he concluded, is not to fail in the same area every day. In today’s terms, one who fails every day in the same area may be labeled a deadbeat — someone who makes a habit of avoiding or evading his or her responsibilities or debts.

In an era where both husband and wife, mother and father are working, leading a balanced life presents challenges. For me, that meant I had to learn to say “no.” I recognize that even doing the things I want to do can cause me to be spread so thin that it leads to a crash down the road.

So maybe the question is not about balance, but about priorities and one’s ability to establish a systematic approach to it each day. The solution is not about establishing more time, but being a better steward over the time God has blessed us with.

Domenick Epps is a Suffolk resident, real estate agent and youth pastor. Email him at DomenickEpps.Realtor@gmail.com.