What’s most important? – Friday, 8 September
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“And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”
Mark 4:18-19 KJV The enemy’s attacks on your life are ‘destiny distractions’, aimed at pulling you off-track from your God-given destiny. These attacks aren’t necessarily temptations to sin morally; sometimes they’re more subtle than that. The enemy will use good things to distract us from God things. The aim of the destiny distractions is to “choke the word” (to stop the life-flow) so that the word will not produce anything. These destiny distractions are anything that we allow to become more important to us than God and the Word God gave us, and they usually come in one of three categories: cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and lusts of other things. When you care for what the world cares for, more than what God cares for, you’re allowing the cares of the world to distract you from your divine destiny. The cares of this world is a question of what is most important to you. What are you prioritizing? It’s true that we live in this world and that there are certain things we cannot ignore, but we must remember that God has a way of doing things which is far better than the world’s way of doing things, and which gets far better results than the world would. “But seek first the kingdom of God andhis righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The way of the world is this: focus on meeting your needs and the needs of your family because you are your provider. But in God’s kingdom, you prioritize His priorities, and provision flows because God is your provider. “So don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to.” The kingdom way (the Christian way) is to acknowledge that God is our provider (Philippians 4:19), and so we don’t chase after provision. Rather, we seek first God, His Kingdom, and His righteousness. The Christian life should be a carefree, worry-free life; a life where although we have problems they do not affect our hearts because we trust in God and we are confident that He is taking care of us. One of the cares of the world that often distracts people from their calling to be a good husband or wife, father or mother, is that of career or work. Don’t get me wrong: your work and career are important and God is interested in it, too. It is a means to provide for and look after your family and invest in the expansion of God’s kingdom. Work is important – but it is not eternal and it is not all that there is to life. And yet many people live as if work is everything. God wants you to work hard and be brilliant at what you do, but not at the expense of relationships with your family. Your career will not last forever and neither will your company – your family is eternal. Don’t sacrifice your family for a successful career. This might be a bit difficult for you to chew, but your career just isn’t that important.
I work hard at what I do – ask my wife or anyone I work with – but I decided a long time that if I have to sacrifice either my family or my ministry, my ministry will lose every time. It’s a godly priority which causes me to be more successful with less effort. For example, it really helps my wife if I am involved with the boys’ supper time, bath time and bedtime routine. It’s also a part of the day that I really want to spend with them. Some evenings I can’t: on Sundays, it’s because of our evening service at church, and there might be one or two other nights in the week that I have a leadership meeting or something like that. But generally, I am not available from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm for anyone or anything but my family. This time is sacred for me. I will meet people and counsel them (or whatever else) before or after that, but not during that time. Sometimes you might need to work late and give a bit more attention to work than you’d like to – that’s okay! It’s when it becomes the norm that it becomes a problem. When your family feels that they have to contend with work (or in my case, church) for your love and attention, then you’ve missed it. Your position at the office can be replaced easily, but your position in the home is irreplaceable. Seek to have godly balance in yourlive, and seek to have it now.
Don’t allow the cares of your career to prevent you from walking in your destiny of being a good spouse and/or parent. If you’re struggling with balance at the moment please know that there is no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1) and I’m not trying to make you feel bad, at all. I want to show you that there is a better way. As you seek first God’s divine order in your life, you will experience the supernatural flow of God’s divine power and blessing. Much love, Shayne |
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