Jon Acuff recently posted a very thought provoking blog post about the time we all spend with family. If you don’t follow Jon’s blog or on Facebook, I’d strongly encourage it. In the post, he uses an illustration that many of us believe that our physical presence is enough. In some way, we convince ourselves that as long as we are on the same couch, in the same room, even in the same house the somehow that is much better than being on the road. While that may be true, he presents the argument that you don’t need a plane ticket to be absent from your family.
[quote align=”center”]Pastor, are you investing time with your family?[/quote]
As pastors, we’ve all been there. Late night committee meetings, sermon preparation, event planning, etc. that keeps us at the church building. Then, we go home and justify that being physically present is adequate enough. However, many times, we get home and the tv comes on, we check Facebook from our phones, answer emails, receive calls, etc., etc., etc.
The challenge is to take the time at home and invest it, do something to provide value with that time. Turn off the phone, the tv, and spend time with your spouse, spend time with your kids. Be intentional about letting them know that when you are home, they are the most important thing at that moment. It’s not enough just to say they are the most important thing in your life, let them know by your actions and how you invest your time.
