Relationships

We love to make progress and to succeed.  When you go to work you can measure progress.  When you stay at work for two extra hours, you get stuff done.  When you come home, it is hard to measure progress.

At home there aren’t any awards banquets and promotions and bonuses.  It isn’t a bad thing to want to make progress and accomplish goals and to succeed.  God built us that way.

But when it gets out of control and your desire for success or your desire for more money or your desire to create a name for yourself and those things compete against the really important things of life, you might cheat your most important relationships for something that is really secondary.  Then there is a problem.

Ephesians 5:21 (NIV) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Submit means I am going to put your needs ahead of mine.  As a husband I am being asked to put my wife’s needs ahead of mine.  As a wife you are asked to put your husband’s needs ahead of yours.  When we love each other fully and want to meet the needs of our marriage partner, we will submit our desires to the needs of our spouse.  We will give our lives for each other as Christ gave his life for us.

Matthew 20:28 (NLT)  “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Bible teaches us to take care of our family.   1 Timothy 5:8  (NLT)  “But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith.”

However, we sometimes sacrifice our families for the sake of success in our careers.  We get super busy and pray, “God please take care of my family while I struggle to get ahead at work.  Maybe your prayer should change to: Lord, take care of things at work while I take care of things at home.

How many unique roles do you have?  If you are married and have children, there are only two unique roles that you have.  First, you are a husband or wife and second, you are the father or mother of your children.  My unique role is to be Patti’s husband and the father of my two sons.

That’s it.  Anything else I do someone else can do and eventually will do.  Why would I trade what is unique for something that someone else can do and eventually will do.   That would be a bad trade.

Don’t trade what is unique to you for something someone else can and will do.

You will never be happier than your relationships.  No matter how much success you enjoy, you will not find joy apart from relationships.

Step back from your limits and create the margin that will give you the full life you want and God wants for you.  Succeed at home – not just at work.