This post actually has nothing to do with the weekly distribution of chores. It is the response to reading Proverbs 24:27 and being hit hard by a truth I think I (and the majority of our society) needs to remember.
Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready;after that, build your house. Proverbs 24:27
Do the work that lasts first.
The outside work pays the bills. It feeds the family. It establishes the future. I know that in our culture it is popular thought to get all you can as soon as you can. We are learning (through our economic situation, foreclosure rates, and national debt) that this mindset does not work.
You must always doe the outside work first. The dirt work. Get out and till the soil. Bend over and by the sweat of your brow plant the seed. Work by the toil of your hand to bring in the harvest. Then store away what is needed for next year to do that work again...THEN build the house.
Typically the work that lasts is the work we want to do last.
Why? It's the hardest and least rewarding of the work. This is the work that produces not what you want but what you need. We want the house and cool of the shade and the fireplace for the winter, but we need a sustainable future and food on the table.
This truth is not just about money. It is a practical principle that applies to almost every facet of life.
Marriage...do the hard work first. Talk about the difficult stuff. Be honest when it hurts. Put the other before yourself. Make meeting their need your first priority over having your own met. The house building will go much more easily if you live this way.
Church life...do the hard work first. In church planting (starting) the first question is always "where." It should be "who." Look around our country and Europe and visit all the fancy buildings where the church prioritized where but forgot all about who. The buildings are beautiful, the stained glass is priceless, and the building is abandoned. Go into ALL THE WORLD!
Parenting...do the hard work first. When you want to sweep that inappropriate behavior under the rug, remember bugs live there. If you want to avoid a bug infestation, clean the house. Discipline your children when the infection is small...when the stakes are low...when the future is still far away. That house will stand strong when the storms of life come.
What outside work have you been avoiding while trying to decorate a house that cannot last?
My thoughts on life as a Christ follower.
