Devotion 11.2.20

God.  Family.  Country.  Job.

I've heard that nice pecking order of life on many occasions.  Some may call it their prioritization order.  Personally, I think it is a late 20th century creation.  My dad, born in 1923, lived through the depression and served in World War II.  He suffered job loss on several occasions.  If I had uttered that to my dad, I would have gotten a stern look.  That look would have communicated, "What in the &%$* is that supposed to mean?" His dad (my grandfather) lost his wife, my dad's mom, and a job simultaneously. Dad had seen hardship, and his dad's solution when he lost his job and his wife was simple, get people to watch the kids while I find work and try to make some money.  My dad was raised, for a period, by his grandparents on a small farm in Minnesota. His oldest sister became mom in care-giving and two sisters stayed with his dad to tend to the house there for him. There was no pecking order stated like above. 

To my dad's generation, you couldn't separate work from providing which meant meeting the needs of those you love.  Work provides food. Work provides shelter and comfort (heating, running water and AC). How on earth, someone like my dad would say, can you put it that far down on a list?

Pastor Dan used the occasion of All Saint's Day to talk about those who have walked before us and are now in the presence of Christ.  Using John 19, he looked at a critical passage dealing with relationships on earth.  "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' And from that hour, the disciple took her into his home." (26-27) This coming from Christ on the cross. A dying Christ setting the relationship.

Sin has corrupted our relationships and our world.  What is the perfect family? As Pastor Dan noted, tv has given us family shows since its inception, from "Leave It to Beaver" through "The Simpsons." My how families have changed in the world of entertainment, but has there ever been the "perfect family?" Dan noted, as I have in education as well, that some people worship their family to the point of idolatry.  Look, for example, at the recent "college gate" where some noted Hollywood figures (and many others) lied just to get their children a "leg up" to get into a choice college assignment.  They aren't alone.  We witness it daily in life in many ways.  In short, it's unhealthy because of our sin-filled world.

Does putting life in an order like the one earlier help? I don't know.  What does help? As Dan noted, putting Christ at the center of our relationships and making the effort to put those we love and their needs above our own, in as healthy a manner as possible.  It's easier said than done, but it is worth the effort. 

We pray for God to open our eyes and our hearts to the needs of those around us, especially our families, and we ask God to help us with wisdom and discernment to meet those needs in a Christ-centered, God pleasing way.