Be Careful What You Ask For
When I bouth a house I made a promise to God that I'd open it up to anyone in need. If they needed a place to crash, a good meal, or just a place to get away I'd give it to them. God gave me what I wanted and more. For over a week I have been over run by troubled teens who tried to take advantage of my generosity. Didn't take them long to realize that I wasn't going to be an easy pushover that would give them anything they want. Perhaps I should have thought this all the way through. Where I used to only have to worry about myself and my room mates, now I have to worry about a group of kids who try to sneak in beer and come from broken homes. I worry about what I am going to say to them, how am I going to share the love of Christ with them? Besides coming up with a list of rules of conduct for being in my home that is only a temporary solution. I have been agonizing on trying to share my faith, keep them from drinking in excess or jumping into bed with each other just because they can....
....Is it always this hard? Serving others? Service? Trying to get them to seek Him? It seems so easy to the Apostles and other fathers of the faith. They just did it. No. It wasn't as easy as it seems. They struggled with all the doubts, worries, and insecurities I did. They got more than they asked for. They asked to follow God and were given the opportunity plus a few extra added spices for flavor. I got what I asked for, but I shouldn't worry about how to serve them. Jesus promised the wisdom in that area.
....Is it always this hard? Serving others? Service? Trying to get them to seek Him? It seems so easy to the Apostles and other fathers of the faith. They just did it. No. It wasn't as easy as it seems. They struggled with all the doubts, worries, and insecurities I did. They got more than they asked for. They asked to follow God and were given the opportunity plus a few extra added spices for flavor. I got what I asked for, but I shouldn't worry about how to serve them. Jesus promised the wisdom in that area.
posted by Out Of Jersey | 3:35 PM
5 Comments:
keep serving, err on the side of love and godliness. but it's more than ok to lay down the law in your house. "this is my house" and "we must protect this house" are the mantras of the day, and kids will respect in the face of respect.
rock on.
Thanks for the encouragement. Last thing I wanted to be was one of those guys who does nothing but lay down a bunch of rules.
It's totally so hard to know where to draw the line sometimes.
After my team went to the Dream Center we had a meeting to discuss how we could do ministry here. Working with troubled teens, or even troubled adults always poses a lot of questions on what to do.
I pray God gives you wisdom for each situation, each kid.
I appreciate that thank you. I never would have expected this to be thrust upon me.
Blessings on you for simply doing this. I find laying rules down difficult too, but appreciate the comment by Rick that it is essential and helpful. Generally, hardness (i.e. forthrightness and honesty) will produce a better result (whether the overture is accepted or rejected) than softnes (i.e. permissiveness). I have had people live with me before and need to somehow get back to a point where I can possibly do this again if called upon.
Good blog, by the way.
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