Ben Patterson offers some guides on how to know we are imbalanced in our pastoral work:
a) The bathroom scale tips you off. ‘Weight gain is a good indicator that I’m under stress and that my life is out of control.”
b) Anger. “Sudden explosions toward my family broadcasts to me that I am under pressure.”
c) When discipline is unhealthy: “If my discipline is reasonable, and they (the children) become annoyed with me anyway, that’s a clue my family missed their dad.”
d) When you don’t take time to engage activities that refresh you. “For me, leading a balanced life means I engage activities that refresh me.”
e) When you don’t know your limitations. “I try to concentrate on what I do well. And that unclutters my calendar while maximizing what I do best.”
f) Unhealthy family and marriage. “In the long run, I contribute to the church most by being a man with a good marriage and a reasonably healthy marriage.”
g) Scheduling Family Time. “The amount of intimacy with my wife or family is directly related to the time spent with them…so, I find that special moments with my family cannot be orchestrated; I must regularly be accessible to them during unscheduled times.”
