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It was perhaps one of the shortest conversations I’ve ever had.
I was asked what was the greatest gift a parent could give to their kids.
I didn’t even hesitate - “Love your wife.”
“Which one?”
“I would think that ideally it would be your first and only one.”
After I got in the car and was alone with my thoughts for a minute I wish I’d changed my answer.
A VERY LARGE INHERITANCE. (Are all my parents reading this???)
Okay - what I wish I had said instead was this - “Follow Jesus.”
I’ve been in a sub-culture where the “Family” at times replaced God. The Golden Calf was the “Family” or the “Marriage.” The end result of that is NOT healthy. The healthiest families were the ones who were investing in something larger than just themselves. In other words - their families didn’t exist just for the sake of their happiness or convenience. They served something higher, together as a family.
Just some random thoughts as I prepare for CRASH, Week 2.
3 responses so far ↓
1 H // Jan 10, 2007 at 7:39 pm
All this time I thought it was sending them to rehab!
Amen to your discourse. Judy and I would have never made it through this season if not for our unified front in approaching our teenagers. We have continued to seek Jesus as a couple and individually. There is a point where your kids get to be “other people”. They need to know what life in Christ means for us as a couple and as individual believers. “Seek ye first…”.
I really didn’t mean to ramble, I just meant to post my smart-a** answer.
2 kris // Jan 11, 2007 at 11:04 pm
i am really not in disagreement w/ your answer — but — i really liked your first response. i see so many people who seem to make their kids the priority - over their marriage and i just don’t think it’s healthy at all. somehow though, we’ve made that seem ok … kids rule the house.
anyway — IMHO your final is the real deal, but your gut wasn’t way off either.
3 Linda // Jan 12, 2007 at 6:16 am
“Follow Jesus” was a given. Your response was a great answer
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