“A sentence from Psalm 101 has been both challenging and convicting for me: ‘I will walk in my house with blameless heart‘(Psalm 101-2, NIV). When God speaks to me about being more loving, this verse reminds me to make application in my family first—and then to others. It forces me to ask, ‘Am I more spiritual, more loving, or more fun somewhere else? Who gets my best—my family or others?” by Jean Fleming A Mother’s Heart: A Look at Values, Vision, and Character for the Christian Mother Amos 8:11-12
What is it about the home and the family unit that makes us think we can let our guard down and be a totally different person there than what people see on Sunday at church or Monday at work. In the back of our mind we must think we are safe within the home to be whatever our emotions dictate us to be that certain day. “After all these people are family,” is the reasoning we put behind it.
A simple stroll from the kitchen to the living room can totally change our attitude and tone of voice as we answer the phone only to find out it was someone from the church. The grumpy harsh voice we just used on our kids or tried out on our husband changes instantly simply because of whom we are addressing. “Well Hello there Susie. Thanks for calling. I’m having a wonderful day. Oh I wasn’t doing anything.” Boy, what a complete turn around from the “Sit down, shut up kids, leave me alone you’re giving me a headache” remark our family hears.
Every day we need to make that choice to walk in our house with a blameless heart. Our home shouldn’t be our place of refuge to run and hide and be whatever our emotions happen to be that particular day, happy, grumpy, sad, irritated, short-temper, funny, etc. It’s not a place to sacrifice our family for the benefit of letting our virtues go like some “time-out” base. It should be the classroom where we learn how to walk blamelessly in order to model it for others when we leave.
Model, that’s what it is. It’s like stepping out of the dressing room area to show off the new dress or suit we were trying on to those waiting outside. We need to do that with how we dress ourselves at home with our attitude and actions. We need to make sure that our family is the one we first model this behavior to. Our Sunday best should include them as they should be the first to see it. They should never be the ones who get the hand-me-downs.
Being on our best behavior should be a choice we live by daily starting within the home. It’s like putting on our greatest performance when we know someone is watching us like a police officer, teacher, parent, or boss and then the minute we think they are gone we relax our integrity and act like we earned a vacation from it. We figure our family should be more understanding that they shouldn’t hold us to a higher standard. After all, we all should have that time to “let our hair” down and be ourselves. Right?
Wrong! It can’t be stressed enough, the home should never be used as a “Time-out”place from integrity but a place where we can develop it in front of those who matter the most to us, our love ones. Use it as a place to sacrifice what keeps us from walking that blameless life instead of sacrficing the quality of family life we could all have. It may not always be appreciated in the home as even Jesus wasn’t appreciated in His own hometown but it didn’ stop Him from walking the blameless walk He did while on earth.
Indeed we need to model it and stop putting it away the minute we get home like we do our winter clothes when spring comes. Walking with integrity and blamelessly is not a seasonal attire we get to bring out when we want, it’s a 24-7 type of thing that should never be removed!
Dress for the occasion of being a Christian daily, don’t leave home without it and better yet don’t go home without it either!
© 2010 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
What is it about the home and the family unit that makes us think we can let our guard down and be a totally different person there than what people see on Sunday at church or Monday at work. In the back of our mind we must think we are safe within the home to be whatever our emotions dictate us to be that certain day. “After all these people are family,” is the reasoning we put behind it.
A simple stroll from the kitchen to the living room can totally change our attitude and tone of voice as we answer the phone only to find out it was someone from the church. The grumpy harsh voice we just used on our kids or tried out on our husband changes instantly simply because of whom we are addressing. “Well Hello there Susie. Thanks for calling. I’m having a wonderful day. Oh I wasn’t doing anything.” Boy, what a complete turn around from the “Sit down, shut up kids, leave me alone you’re giving me a headache” remark our family hears.
Every day we need to make that choice to walk in our house with a blameless heart. Our home shouldn’t be our place of refuge to run and hide and be whatever our emotions happen to be that particular day, happy, grumpy, sad, irritated, short-temper, funny, etc. It’s not a place to sacrifice our family for the benefit of letting our virtues go like some “time-out” base. It should be the classroom where we learn how to walk blamelessly in order to model it for others when we leave.
Model, that’s what it is. It’s like stepping out of the dressing room area to show off the new dress or suit we were trying on to those waiting outside. We need to do that with how we dress ourselves at home with our attitude and actions. We need to make sure that our family is the one we first model this behavior to. Our Sunday best should include them as they should be the first to see it. They should never be the ones who get the hand-me-downs.
Being on our best behavior should be a choice we live by daily starting within the home. It’s like putting on our greatest performance when we know someone is watching us like a police officer, teacher, parent, or boss and then the minute we think they are gone we relax our integrity and act like we earned a vacation from it. We figure our family should be more understanding that they shouldn’t hold us to a higher standard. After all, we all should have that time to “let our hair” down and be ourselves. Right?
Wrong! It can’t be stressed enough, the home should never be used as a “Time-out”place from integrity but a place where we can develop it in front of those who matter the most to us, our love ones. Use it as a place to sacrifice what keeps us from walking that blameless life instead of sacrficing the quality of family life we could all have. It may not always be appreciated in the home as even Jesus wasn’t appreciated in His own hometown but it didn’ stop Him from walking the blameless walk He did while on earth.
Indeed we need to model it and stop putting it away the minute we get home like we do our winter clothes when spring comes. Walking with integrity and blamelessly is not a seasonal attire we get to bring out when we want, it’s a 24-7 type of thing that should never be removed!
Dress for the occasion of being a Christian daily, don’t leave home without it and better yet don’t go home without it either!
© 2010 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
5 comments:
Thank you so much for sharing. It certainly is a "choice" we need to make daily as far as letting our light shine for Jesus at home and outside the home. Thank you for sharing your heart today.
the home should never be used as a “Time-out”place from integrity but a place where we can develop it in front of those who matter the most to us, our love ones
I agree! I often have to shake my head at those who are one way at home but present a different front to the world at large. Why be something you're not and which one is the "real" you? The one you present to the world or the person you are at home and if you're different at both then there is a big lack of integrity, period!
It’s like putting on our greatest performance when we know someone is watching us like a police officer, teacher, parent, or boss and then the minute we think they are gone we relax our integrity and act like we earned a vacation from it.
So true! Step by step, day by day, I have worked hard to make sure I am ministering to my family first and foremost. Though still not perfect, I see the difference it makes!
Karen, how sad it is when we hear of Christian men and women who are respected in the workplace and even sometimes in the pulpit who are completely different at home. As you said, "Being on our best behavior should be a choice we live by daily starting within the home."
How sad it would be to be respected by the world but hated or even feared by those within our own walls.
Wow! So true! We need to be blameless EVERYWHERE! I never want my husband to get the crappy parts of me!
Post a Comment