Mom Heart Moments #233

They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

SUPPOSE MY HUSBAND CAME TO me one day and said, “Now, Sally, these are my standards for what I expect in our home. I want a clean house and a homemade dinner each night. Our children should behave, memorize Scripture, learn to play a musical instrument, be mannerly, and have godly character. I expect you to read a chapter of both the Old and New Testament every day, and I want the kids to have three books of the Bible memorized by the time they are ten. I will be checking with you every day to correct anything you have done that is not up to my standards. If we keep these ideals, our children will turn out to be moral, spiritual, hardworking adults. Agreed?”

What if, then, my husband would come to me every day and say, “I noticed that someone left a sock on the den floor, so you have not succeeded in training our children well. And I also did not appreciate that fast-food dinner last night. You are becoming a bit lazy, since you did not make me a homemade meal. I noticed that two of the kids misspelled a word on their thank-you notes to the grandparents. You need to work harder, get up earlier, and make a better schedule, as we are falling behind on our goals.”

Of course, goals given to me as a list by a husband who dictated what my behavior should be, without consideration of a relationship, would produce death, not life, in my relationship to him.

Why do we expect a different result if we treat our children this way?

In looking at this imaginary situation humorously, is anything coming to mind that may have caused a pang in your heart? Ask the Lord to show you any areas where you are putting expectations onto the dear ones in your family that are arbitrary and without a basis of kindness, invitation, and relationship.