Where We Spend Our Time :: day 29

Oct
2012

Communicating to our children :: Where we spend our time matters

Yesterday we had a guest speaker at church and he spoke on the lives of Abraham and Lot. It was an excellent message and will soon be available to listen to online here if you’re interested. One of the main points I took away from his message was the emphasis of where Abraham sat versus where Lot sat.

Take a look at Genesis 18:1

“The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.”

and then Genesis 19:1

“The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city…”

Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent. A tent being a symbol of a traveler, a pilgrim. A dweller of a tent says; “I am willing to be moved, this is not my home. I desire a better country – a heavenly one.”

Hebrews 11:16;

“Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

Lot was sitting at the gateway to the city – a meeting spot for decision makers, where the wisdom of the city met, a place where leaders were expected to be. Lot was a powerful and connected man; the problem was that his city was extremely wicked. He sought worldly wisdom and connections.

It was noted that in the NT both these men were declared righteous, so I am taking the principles here and applying them to Christian homes, where parents are raising their children in the ways of the Lord.

As believers – and parents – we need to be aware of where we spend our time and who we are letting influence our thoughts, and thereby actions. There is much in this world that looks wise and appears worthwhile, but is it of eternal value? We need to spend much time in prayer and use a lot of discernment as to where we will commit ourselves because where we spend our time will influence us and those around us. More directly; the wisdom we seek will influence our children.

As a gently reminder we should keep in mind 1 Corinthians 3:19;

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.”

Our children need to see by how we live our own lives that we are available to be used as God calls us and that we aren’t seeking the wisdom of the world by where we spend our time.

I love this quote, I don’t know where I got it from and Google isn’t revealing the source for me … but I appreciate it’s warning;