DUTIES TO OUR CHILDREN (2 Timothy – 20)
We know what advice Paul gave Timothy about being a godly pastor and husband, but what would he say about being a father? What advice would Paul give to pastors today? I’ll share some things He has taught me about being a godly father.
As I look back on my life, I have a perspective that many of you who are younger do not have. My children are grown, married and raising children of their own. My impact on their life has largely been made. I thank God that He convicted me at the start of ministry of the importance of making my family my number one congregation. Others have come and gone in my life, but my family is still my family. There is no one I have had more influence on or ever will have more influence on than my wife and children.
Jesus’ top priority while on earth was His ‘family’ of disciples, not the crowds, and not new programs and projects. He put them and their needs first, often withdrawing from the crowds or sending others away to spend time with the disciples (Matthew 8:18; 14:13-15; 15:39). His pattern is ours to follow today. There is no one you will reproduce yourself in more completely than your children. And you WILL reproduce yourself in them, for good or for bad. You cannot change the fact that you will totally influence their lives. The question is what the influence will be, not if you will have influence. Children are like soft clay which you are forming and molding into whatever image you choose (Proverbs 22:6). If you are too busy to be with them, that makes them feel rejected and unimportant. You represent God in their lives. How you treat them will lead them to or from Jesus. You are forming them and will form them more than anyone else in your ministry.
It is a shame that the children of those in ministry often have a reputation for rebellion and disobedience. Whose fault is that? God Himself says that if we cannot manage our families then we cannot manage His church (1 Timothy 3:4-5). Your children need you more than your church. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our service for God and our ‘success’ in the eyes of others that we miss what is most important. God gave us our children to disciple for Him. Nothing is more important! He will never lead us to neglect our children for the sake of other things, even ministry. They are precious to Him and He entrusts them to us. He will never give us so much to do that we cannot have time for them. That comes from our wrong priorities.
One of my greatest joys in life is watching my children serve the Lord and follow Him. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 4). Each one of them has chosen to stay faithful to God and serve Him wholeheartedly. Make sure you see your children as of top importance in your ministry. Only your wife is more important. (June 12, 2023 Doylestown, PA)
PAUL’S ADVICE: Put your children before your ministry but not your wife and raise them to be disciples of Jesus.
Deuteronomy 11:18-22 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
I am sure you would say your family is your number 1 priority, but would they agree?
What proof can you present that shows you put your wife and children before your work?
Would your children say that they know they are more important to you than your ministry?
PRAYER REQUEST: Christian Training Organization (CTO) is sending two men to India June 17-30 to lead pastor’s conferences and speak in churches. PLEASE for these men as they travel and speak. Pray for Pastor Moses who organizes and leads the conferences. Pray for each one who comes to learn and grow in their faith and ministry. If you want to receive my India blog, pictures and prayer requests email me at jerry@schmoyer.net.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
Copyright © 2023