You've Got Two Choices. . .

I've been thinking a lot about a certain subject lately. Whether you are a full-time minister, lay minister or not a minister at all, your job and other obligations require sacrifices in certain areas of your life. You have to give of your time and money, you have to put aside your preferences and desires. The one thing that should never be the victim of work or ministry is your family.

I know that there is a delicate balance between our work/ministry life and our home life. There are times when you have no choice but to stay late for an hour to finish a project that has an impending deadline. We will always have those days when something or someone is screaming for our attention. My point is, it should not have to be your spouse or children screaming for it.

Our first priority in our lives should be our relationship with God. The extension of that relationship with God should be our relationship with our family. Then, finally, flowing out of your relationship with God and your family will be your ministry. If you get these priorities out of order, you are in for a world of pain and disappointment.

Make yourself always available to your spouse and your children. In most offices today managers operate with an "open door" policy, so you can feel free to offer suggestions or share frustrations. Make sure you operate your household in the same way. Your family should always be able to come to you with any problem, concern or situation.

I Timothy 3:4-5 gives us some advice when it says, "He must manage his own family well, with children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church?" Now, those are pretty strong words from our friend, the apostle Paul. Let me go again to the Tiffany Partin paraphrase where this portion of scripture says, "Look, if you can't manage to keep your own life in order, how in the world, can you expect to help anyone else get his straightened out?"

The long and short of it is this: put your family first. God respects and honors that. He looks for it; He even requires it. Do not put a church board meeting in front of your daughter's ballet recital. Schedule that counseling session on a night other than that of your son's soccer playoffs. If you have the choice to work overtime or spend time with your kids, choose the time with your kids. You can always spend money later, but you can never retrieve unspent time.

Your family should receive your best. They should be the first people to whom you minister, not the last. Raising a family is similar to how you handle money - pay now or pay more later. You've got two choices when it comes to your family . . . invest your time now and reap great rewards later or borrow against their love on credit and have to pay it back with interest in the future.

Now, go on, go give your family a hug!