Action-packed Communication
Theme of the Week: Why Do We Fail Those We Love?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing (Philippians 2:4). Bonus Reading: Matthew 21:28–31a
The other day I was downstairs writing in the living room (yes, this book on how to love Christ in your family). Jackie was upstairs trying to make sense of the little girls' tornado-strewn bedroom. It was lunchtime and the kids were crying for something to eat.
Because Jackie was making good progress, she called down to ask if I'd pull something together for them. Some disputed amount of time passed (she says it was an hour and 15 minutes, but it couldn't have been more than 45) and still no lunch. Jackie came tromping down the stairs with a certain resonance that got my immediate attention and compelled me to instinctively yell out, "I'm coming right now … I've got it!"
What I didn't do communicated far more clearly than what I said. My lack of action told Jackie her work and progress weren't important to me. It told the kids their needs weren't important. What was important was what I was doing. Jackie wasn't so mad about this particular incident, but rather that it was one in a consistent succession of such Glenn-centric behavior. Self-centeredness can serve to choke the souls of those around you. It did in this case.
—Glenn Stanton in My Crazy Imperfect Christian Family
My Response:When it comes to responding to my family's needs, I'm a ___ on a scale of 1 to 10.
Thought to Apply: No indulgence of passion destroys the spiritual nature so much as respectable selfishness.—GEORGE MACDONALD (Scottish author)
My Crazy Imperfect Christian Family (NavPress, 2004) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher.
Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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You've called me, Lord, to the demanding discipleship of family. Empower me to worthily represent you there.
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