CWW Week 15 - Day 5 - God In The Family
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Joshua 24:15
‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’
Devotional.
We continue today to unpack the Resolution commitment with the fourth principle of manhood.
“I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.”
The importance of this came home to me about twenty years ago. I was an atheist on a deadly spiral of self indulgent living, all set up as a stage on which I would perform to look like I had it together while I was planning my own suicide. No one could see the hole in my soul you could park a truck in. I tried to fill that hole with all manner of things that were only ever temporary. Nothing lasted and I would fall right back into the quicksand of modern un-principled living.
My youngest daughter called me from Egypt where she was working and living, to tell me that she was about to become a Muslim.
In the heated discussion that followed she told me that ‘you have given us no spiritual up-bringing at all, and I have no idea what you believe in. So before you criticise my choices, why don’t you tell me; what is it that you believe in?’
That was the single most important question I have ever been asked.
Within a week of thinking it through, I realised that there must be a God but I hated religion. I think that religion, in the institutional sense, is the business of God conducted by men and they are very bad at it.
Many of you will have heard this part of my testimony many times but the point I wish to make here is the lack of spiritual up-bringing and how it obviously affected my children.
Now as I write, I think on how this affected my own childhood, given that I had next to no spiritual upbringing either. I attended an Anglican Sunday school about there times when I was in my first year at primary school.
I had no spiritual education and I was not equipped to pass the same on to my own children as the spiritual leader of my family.
Without any real spiritual upbringing and living in a dysfunctional family where alcohol and marital infidelity played a major part in my navigation process as a kid, I had nothing substantial on which to set my moral compass early in life other than the basic instincts innate in all of us.
I have since realised that my IRS or Integrity Reference System, had not been properly calculated to fine tune it for my future, and, as it turns out, the future of my children. I had an innate sense of the basics, but that would only serve me when the weather was calm. I needed to be trained to apply all the principles needed to navigate through the storms of the life that lay ahead.
It’s different now. I am still able to turn the tide with my kids but it’s a little late. They have bumbled their way through the first half of their lives now, tripping over all the obstacles and making ill thought out decisions they may have avoided had I shown them how to navigate with God as their North Star.
My life now is punctuated with a subtle but constant reference to God in all of life’s blessings and curses. He has showered me with the blessings and is with me as I ply the narrow and treacherous channels of my curses.
My kids know where I stand now and I pray that they will see the benefits I am enjoying as an encouragement to love God too, with all of their hearts, minds and strength.
I recently listened to a story from a man who took a fundamentalist turn in his faith journey and became a militant and judgemental Christian forcing his family to make a sharp correction in their navigation. He became a tyrant. The end result was that he now lives alone and his children don’t want to know him. This is not spiritual leadership. This is not shepherding a flock. This is Bible based tyranny based of fundamental interpretations of perfection that are un-attainable unless it is forced thus nullifying the benefits offered by God’s freedom to choose every day whom we will serve. This behaviour is far from perfect in God’s eyes. His children will struggle to see the face of God when they think of God as their father. They will struggle not to see their fathers face on God’s face. If they have now rejected their earthly father then they will most likely reject their Heavenly Father.
If God is not a punishing dictator then what does it say when we behave like one, in His name and as an example of being created in His image?
What does it say about God when we act like tyrants in His name?
When I was in my employment role as an Airline Captain, I always had a good day out. I accepted that the crew allocated to me for the journey were well trained, had a good grip of standard operating procedures, and were capable in the role. I treated them with respect, and in my entire thirty four year career as a Captain on the jet, I only ever had to assert my command on three occasions. Only three times did I ever have to say, “I am the Captain and what I say goes!” Some of my colleagues do that on every flight.
The people I flew with all knew what to expect when they were rostered to fly with me, and I had their love and respect. Many of my co-pilots have gone on to become good Captains because they modelled themselves on the style I employed. This applies to us when we are the spiritual Captains of our families. If our kids are skilled in the basics and theyknow the standard operating procedures, then all we have to do is to maintain our own standards based on our love and obedience to God and the route has been well planned and their moral compass can be relied upon.
Joshua 24:15
‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’
Questions.
- Are you thinking that it’s now too late for you to take on the role of spiritual leader?
- Is it possible that a change of course in the right direction for your life could be used to blaze the trail for your children?
- Can you see that Jesus is ready to make the subtle course corrections needed to help you guide your kids into His loving arms?
Prayer.
Dear Lord, Papa God.
I have realised that my initial course has aimed my family at the wrong destination. I am prepared to accept that this has happened because I have refused to listen to your basic instructions. Now Papa, as I attempt to set the right course, I need you to guide and lead me along the narrow path to home not only for me but for my children. Fill me with the power of Your Holy Spirit Lord that I may make the appropriate course changes in my life and clearly transmit them to my children in love and compassion.
This I pray in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Graham Hood.
