The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. Deuteronomy 28:12 NIV
You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands, and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers. Deuteronomy 30:8-9 NIV
We all want the blessing of the Lord on our lives, and indeed, He desires to bless us! He is not the One withholding blessing from us. He tells us that He wants to bless us and He also tells us what we must to do to receive His blessing. The Word clearly states that God will bless the work of our hands! God cannot bless nothing. We must give Him something to bless. We have God’s promise that if we are obedient to His word that He will bless our work. So we must do two things to receive God’s blessing – work and obey! If we do the right thing – we will be blessed and our family will be blessed.
For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. 13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-13 NKJV
God commands us to mind our own business, to work and to do good. God gives us our own areas of responsibility and He expects us to take care of those things that He has placed in our hands. He also expects us not to be interfering in other people’s areas of responsibility. If we are overly concerned with other people’s business, we will not have enough time for our own. Some well-meaning yet misguided people spend too much time trying to solve their friends’ problems, while their own family’s needs are neglected. You are not responsible for other people – you are responsible for your own family. By the same token, other people are not responsible for solving your problems either.
Some people don’t take care of their responsibilities and then when everything falls apart, they want the church to make it right for them. It is not the church’s responsibility to feed, house and clothe you and your family – it is yours. We, as Christians, are to be a blessing to others, but we are not responsible for others. We should do good to others if it is in our power to do it and we should help people when they need our help. There are people who have fallen on hard times and they need a helping hand so that they can get back on their feet. However, each person is responsible to work and to provide for themselves and their family. Laziness and irresponsibility are not acceptable before God or even in the eye of the law. The law holds you responsible for your family – to provide for them and to protect them. If you do not take proper care of your children, then under the law, the state is obligated to punish you.
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.
1 Timothy 5:8 NIV
Whether you are a believer or not, you are obligated to take care of your family. This is your first responsibility before God. You must feed them, clothe them, put a roof over their heads and keep them safe and happy. Before you go out to save the world – you must work to take care of your own family.
Too many people sacrifice their family on the altar of ministry – something that God has not asked you to do. God must be your first priority, your family second and the work of ministry third. However, if anyone sacrifices anything for the sake of ministry it should be the one whom God has called – you – not your kids who have no choice in the matter.
We remember some ministers for their great ministries, but all their kids remember is no Christmas, no birthday presents and no parents there when they needed them. Even if you work and work hard to provide for your family’s physical needs – you must do whatever it takes to take care of their emotional needs too. Remember, they need you and your love and attention more than anything else. You must work to provide for the needs of your family’s bodies, but you also need to work to provide for the needs of their souls and spirits. If you will work hard to provide for your family, spirit, soul and body – you will have a blessed family.
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