Family Responsibility

Having the Gift of Administration automatically makes me a steward; one who looks after things and people. My family are people; the most special and important to me than anything thing or anyone else in the world. To me every person Christian or non-Christian, should have that same opinion. Unfortunately such is not the case. In 1 Timothy 5:8, Paul; says, “if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Pretty cut and dried to me . . .

God has blest us with many blessings in the world. Life in itself is His greatest gift followed by salvation. Yet, with these gifts and many more, comes the responsibility of looking after them. The first thing that God told Adam to do was work. He told him to name all the animals in the world. Then, after the fall he told him that he would work and toil. Part of “work” is maintaining, growing, and developing the things that we are responsible for. One of those “things” is family; perhaps the most important destiny in our lives. “To whom much is given, much is required.” There is no question that we have been given plenty which includes family, especially in our culture and society.

The bible says that we are to leave our children’s children and inheritance. Yet, I find in our culture too many senior citizens who believe that spending their own money that they have “worked so hard for” seems to be a rite of old age and retirement. Again, we see people putting their “treasures in the pleasures” and not into heavenly things. We need to stop here and define the word “family.” Although I believe the scripture in Timothy that Paul was referring to one’s literal family, in today’s culture the members of our church, and indeed the members of the body of Christ are all “family.” Therefore, perhaps a better solution for seniors would be to go on missions trips and combine pleasure with purpose. Perhaps going back to school to re-train in the things of God for the benefit of “family” (in the broadest sense of the word) is more in tune than the narcissistic desire of “retiring” to play golf. Ironically, in spite of the world wide crises of needs, (food, clothing, water, education, spiritual etc. etc.) it seems to me that many people in this world, young and old alike, don’t have enough to do and are bored. If many of the retires of the world would cut their golf games in half and shut the T.V. off, and got busy helping with the needs of the world, than the world might be a better place to live. Point being, “how does a Christian retire??” If young people would stop “hanging out” in some sort of state of bored existence thinking that the world owes them a living, and get busy helping others and helping to solve the world’s problems, then wouldn’t the world be a better place to live?

As parents, we are commanded to raise our children in Christian homes with Christian influences and teaching. “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6) What greater responsibility in life is there than this? Personally, I cannot think of anything more serious and important that this commandment. This rule is not restricted to financially blessings. Indeed, that is the problem with many parents in our society. There is too much emphasis on material blessings and not on the emotional and nurturing needs of children. Parents are spending too much time making money for a certain high level of standard of living, but what their children really need is them and their time. Often the biggest regret of the businessman is that he did not spend enough time with his kids. Family responsibility is one of the greatest calls if not the greatest that any person can have in life.

Go to lifeposter.ca for more thoughts on this subject.