Mind or Muscle is all about balanced development. Development of both your mind and your body is critical for a long fruitful life. Still, true balance is much more than mind and muscle. When asked "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus confirmed that each of us needs to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'' (Luke 10:25-27 NIV) True balance places all aspects of our lives in service to a living God.

By this standard developing both mind and body falls short of a balanced life. A balanced life develops:

Our Heart: By loving God in a lifelong commitment.

Our Soul: By accepting that we are spiritual beings and spending time in prayer and worship.

Our Mind: By using our minds to understand, explore, and admire God and his creation.

Our Strength: By caring for and using our bodies to do honest work and serve God.

Our Neighbors: We are to be responsible for ourselves and to care for others as well!

Though Mind or Muscle directly addresses only the mind and the body, it can serve as a window into much more of our lives. A person whose desire to win drives him or her to lie or cheat has revealed either a spiritual or emotional problem that desperately needs to be dealt with. A person who hurts others in order to win has no balance.

Most anyone who can respect others and follow the rules should be able to play and enjoy Mind or Muscle. However, if you find that you are the one tempted to lie, cheat, or trash talk, as means to feeling better about yourself-- you need to pursue balance on a much larger scale. It needs to start with meeting the creator God and finding out about how your sin is hurting, even destroying, you as much as those around you.

Do these words sound strange? If you have never pursued a relationship with Jesus, by faith, please consider following some of the links to the left. This could be the first step toward true balance and peace in a stormy life.