CWW Week 16 - Day 2 - 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 eighth
principle of manhood.
“I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.”
Are you on a treadmill? Do you struggle to find time for yourself? Do you
feel like there is so much expected of you ,and you often feel like a
walking ATM who exists only to keep the family supplied with all they
want to have a successful life?
Paul was a great guy. We flew together a lot and he was an excellent co-
pilot. On the first day we flew together as we were cruising at thirty five
thousand feet I wanted to get to know him. “What do you do for fun?” I
enquired. “Fun? I don’t have fun I have kids!” “ What do you mean?” I
replied. “Well by the time I use what time I don’t spend at work running
them to soccer and ballet lessons etc; and working all the overtime I can
get to pay for their private school fees, iPads, school excursions to Europe,
extra curricular activities etc, I have zero time for fun.”
“ Why do you do all that?’ I asked. “It’s what’s expected of me isn’t it?”
“What who expects?’ “Well society I guess.” “Have you ever asked your
kids what they need?”
Paul said that he had never had that conversation with his kids.
The average Australian father spends thirty seven seconds in one on one
communication with each of his children. This equates to the television
spending more time talking to them by the time they are six years of age
than you will in their entire lifetime.
That’s a frightening concept. Our kids are desperate to have us perfectly
present in their lives. But we are too preoccupied giving them what they
want at the expense of what they need. They need us to be there for them.WEEK 16 DAY 2 GOD IN THE FAMILY CONT.
Lets pretend that you offered your child the choice of two boxes. One
containing a fancy house, private schooling, a swimming pool, and
holidays in Europe every year, with you in their lives thirty seven seconds
a day.
The other offered them a good public school, an average house, a swim at
the local municipal baths, a camping holiday every year and you in their
lives five hours a day; which one do you think they would take?
I think you know the answer. But you had better ask the question before
they reach puberty because after that they will tell you to give them the
first one. You are so miserable to even spend thirty seven seconds a day
with without having you for five hours.
Can you see the difference between meeting their needs and giving them
their wants?
God always gives us what we need rather than what we want. There are
times when He can see that our character development is in need of some
hardship, but we never ask for hardship do we?
When our children keep having their desires met by us at great expense,
we are undermining their ability to struggle through the inevitable hard
times that lay ahead of them. We create a generation of childish adults who
are bloated on entitlement, and how destructive is that?
Meeting their emotional needs is a vital component of principle number
eight in the Resolution document.
Knowing how to love each of our family members and knowing that they
each may respond to love in different ways is critical. I once again highly
recommend the book “The Five Love Languages” by Dr Gary Chapman.
Our families needs encompass all the facets of healthy living. The
physical, emotional, spiritual and a means of sustaining life such as food
and water. We are called on to be committed to their needs as fathers in our
homes. Fulfilling the needs of our families can only truly be met by
establishing a clearly understood hierarchy. God first always, spouse
second and children third. The best gift we can give our children is a happy
marriage as this meets their need for security as they develop.
Failing to put spouse ahead of children may leave a gap that will be filled
by another thus placing the family unit in peril.WEEK 16 DAY 2 GOD IN THE FAMILY CONT.
Clearly we can see that all the principles of the Resolution are interwoven
in a way that also enhances our sense of manhood in creating a flourishing
family.
Who will you serve today?
Questions.
1. 2. 3. Do you have the strength to say no when no is required?
Are you always putting yourself on the back burner to the determent of
your own joy thus depriving your family of the real you?
Is it now time to realise that you are a very important need your family
has and re-arrange your life?
Prayer.
Dear Lord, Papa God.
You always meet my needs and I can truly see that often I need to have my
wants pushed aside. I know that often my prayers are give me, give me,
give me. Thanks you for showing me how selfish I can be and give me a
heart to serve and meet the needs of my family Papa. For this I pray in the
name of Jesus. Amen.
Graham Hood.
