When I first started pastoring, I had an older pastor take me out to lunch. He wanted to impart his wisdom from his many years of ministry, of which I was grateful. He shared some very beneficial comments with me which I have tried to incorporate and be more effective as a pastor. But he said one thing which caught me off guard. He told me that he didn't understand the new breed of pastors who felt it was okay to take a day off. Then he went on to tell me that he never took a day off because Satan never took a day off. I kept my comments to myself, but my first thought was, "I'm trying to imitate Jesus and He took a day off". But that comment may not have been appropriate at that moment. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I didn't take one day off, I took two days off during the week. Here was a man of God whose whole life revolved around the church, which had kept him from spending much time in the world where most of his church lived.
A few years later, I was talking story with a pastor of one of the largest churches in our country. As we talked, he told me he was so busy with what God was doing at the church that he had not been home for one evening in the past three months. Now, he was a station in life where his kids were grown and out of the house, but I was stunned by that.
Now, I don't share these two pastors with you to run them down, but to point out a truth of Scripture. Take a moment to read Matthew 16:24-26.
In reading this passage, we see Jesus call us to follow Him, taking up our cross. Many Christians I know would look at these two pastors as examples of what Jesus meant. However, I believe when we get so busy with church work that our family and even our own health is neglected, we are being disobedient. Jesus lived a balanced life and we often find Him getting away from even His closest friends so He could be refreshed and recharged. If Jesus needed that, we certainly need that.
May I paraphrase Matthew 16:26 in this way? "What does it profit a pastor to grow a huge church and yet lose his own family". Our first area of ministry is to our family. We also need to model for them a healthy and balanced life so they will have a road map for their own lives. We model the wrong thing whenever our family gets the leftovers. We can get so busy with work and providing for our family that we forget our spouse and children would much rather have our time that our provisions. Our family can survive without The Dish, but they cannot survive without our love. Oh, they can learn to make do without us. But the day comes when we finally have time to spend with them and be shocked to find that they no longer have time for us.
I guess my burden is for us to make the most of the time we have to love our family members. Maybe you and your spouse have grown distant and rarely talk. How about getting a baby-sitter and taking him/her out on a date. Maybe you have been so busy with the important details of your life that you haven't had time to talk with your parents. How about stopping by for a visit or giving them a call and just listening? As our parents grow older, they long more and more to have time with their children. Maybe your kids rarely see you because of your many activities. Maybe it's time to say "no" to some of those activities and "yes" to just hanging out with your kids.
What does it profit us to be a success in the world and a failure at home? May this Sip bring refreshment to you so you can refresh your family!
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