Feb 2012
A new look at the old phrase, "Charity begins at home."
Feb/10/2012
In ministry we see the close thing as hard and the far thing as easy. The close thing: influencing and winning your family is hard because it takes a determination to be a loving person of character, integrity, humility, and transparency to just gain a hearing. Add to that the commitment and discipline to be balanced, to pray, and to be present in their lives; this will make the difference. Imparting truth is a full-time job. In the family, more is caught than is taught, and our children, more than likely will be who we are more than what we say.
Influencing far things is easy because as ministers or missionaries we are not really known. More is taught than is caught because the subjects do not live with us. Being successful as a minister or missionary, however, is deemed heroic, but no one calls the successful parent a hero.
Some leaders have actually misjudged the requirements of our Lord. They believe forsaking their families for the love of ministry is noble, something our Lord requires, but the opposite is true. The apostle Paul wrote one of the qualifications for a leader is the ability to win his family (Titus 1:6). And a modern translation of the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount using the input of “family” could read, “Why would anyone listen to you about how to instill honor and love into their children when your children are full of rebellion and hatred?” Of course, you cannot teach what you do not know, and you cannot take others where you did not go.
Influencing far things is easy because as ministers or missionaries we are not really known. More is taught than is caught because the subjects do not live with us. Being successful as a minister or missionary, however, is deemed heroic, but no one calls the successful parent a hero.
Some leaders have actually misjudged the requirements of our Lord. They believe forsaking their families for the love of ministry is noble, something our Lord requires, but the opposite is true. The apostle Paul wrote one of the qualifications for a leader is the ability to win his family (Titus 1:6). And a modern translation of the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount using the input of “family” could read, “Why would anyone listen to you about how to instill honor and love into their children when your children are full of rebellion and hatred?” Of course, you cannot teach what you do not know, and you cannot take others where you did not go.