Freeing Up Our Time, Part 2

It’s pretty easy to get confused about doing things for the Lord, thinking we’re following His will for our lives. We then wonder why we don’t have any peace about it. After all, people are affirming our good works and there’s plenty in the Bible about showing our faith through what we do (James 2:26 says that faith without deeds is dead). I know first hand how confusing it can be.

One year I was convinced that the Lord was calling me to a leadership and outreach position in the church. I was the chairperson for two committees, a member on a third, sang in the choir, taught the high school Sunday school class, organized the annual Christmas caroling outreach program, a liturgist, a greeter, involved in drama, baked for Sunday morning coffee hour, and consistently pitched in whenever I was asked. I just knew I was in the Lord’s will because everyone complimented me on how involved I was and what a difference I was making in certain areas.

And what I was doing was a good thing. I was serving the Lord by serving the church. I was reaching people. I was touching people. Only problem was, I was never home. I wasn’t spending time reaching or touching my own children. I had confused doing things for the Lord with letting Him use me for His purpose. I was doing things for Him instead of letting Him work through me.

The way we find spare time for teaching our children is to make sure we’re not confusing doing things for the Lord with walking in obedience in Him. One puts the focus on the activity, the other puts the focus on Him. If our church and community activities are depriving our children of time spent together in the Word, we need to evaluate this contradiction in terms.

To paraphrase Matthew 16:26: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his [child’s] soul?”