No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Matthew 6: 24
We live in a time in history when culture tries to convince us that we can do it all---but each of us only has one life to invest in what matters. Each of us is limited in the amount of time we can use to invest in the priorities of our lives.
But, the truth is, we have to choose what we will focus our limited time on and our choices will have consequences.
Choices have consequences. What a man sows he will reap--the way one invests time, money, mind, heart and energy will indeed have long term consequences.
In regards to motherhood, and the lives of our children, excellence of character must be intentionally developed. Moral foundations take hundreds of hours of teaching and modeling to cultivate such a life. Pouring into the souls of our children, developing sharp minds, protecting them from the draw of culture, passing on faith--all of this does not come about by chance. God will hold us responsible for the ways we used our lives to cultivate these attributes in the lives of our children.
I do not think there is one formula in regards to accomplishing these things, and all of us have different pressures, issues, puzzles to figure out in regards to motherhood.
But, we cannot foster a divided heart and be able to truly pass on a legacy of righteousness. Our heart must be devoted to the stewardship of the lives that have been trusted into our hands. We cannot serve the world and God's purposes.
The reality is we can only serve one master and God does not put up with idols or competition to see who will win--in our lives or in the lives of our children or ministry or church. Obedience is simple and straightforward and not a matter of opinion.
He allows us to ignore wisdom and go against Biblical logic and wisdom, but he usually leaves the consequences of our unwise and poor choices in tact, because he has given us the opportunity to seek holy choices and to pursue wisdom.
This is indeed a difficult issue to address in this culture as we want to have it our way. Yet, I have seen after all these years of mothering and knowing many families, that if children do not find stability, love, training, spiritual reality, purpose, comfort in their own home, they will look for it wherever they can find it--and they will become like the place they spend the most time or like the people they spend the most time with, because they are shaped by the culture in which they invest their hearts.
For more about this subject, join me today for more at Momheart.org for an article, questions and discussion about the blessing of cultivating an undivided heart--a heart free to serve, to submit, to work, for the glory of God without restraint.
And join us in our book study of The Mission of Motherhood
