Isaiah 2:11-12 – The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
The Lord alone will be exalted. Everything else we lift up will be brought low. All the things we value, give attention to, and care so much about will be taken away. In the end, it will be God and only God that is exalted.
Knowing the certainty of that, it made me to reflect on what I value, and especially the effect that has on my wife and kids. What am I holding up in the home as important? What really grabs my attention?
I think about this as a dad and as a husband. What am I showing to my kids and my wife as to what really matters to me? Do they see that my ego is what really matters? Is it politics that they see is so important to me? What about sports? Do my kids think that if they succeed in sports that they will then have my full approval? Or maybe they see that careers, education and making lots of money is what I hold up to them as valuable. If my kids succeed in these things, will they then really get my praise and approval? Is it only when our kids are pretty, make good grades and excel in sports that we praise them?
Are we praising and holding up spiritual values? Do we call attention to our spouse’s admirable godly qualities? Do we praise our kids in front of others when they demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.)?
Think about it this way? What did Jesus value? When did Jesus “marvel”? What made Jesus stop in the middle of a crowd to say, “Who touched Me?” Of what did Jesus take notice? What did Jesus praise?
Jesus praised and took notice of great faith, humility and a sacrificial heart. He commended people like the Roman Centurion (Matthew 8), Mary (Mark 14, John 12), the woman with the blood issue (Mark 5), the Syro-Phoenician woman (Mark 7), and the widow who gave her last two coins (Luke 21). These people impressed Jesus and caught His attention.
On the flip side, Jesus was not impressed with beautiful temple stones and other outward demonstrations of religion and self-righteousness. He didn’t “ooh and aah” over people’s physical beauty and talents. He didn’t stop in the crowd to pay attention to someone who was really smart. Jesus didn’t praise somebody up and down because they could hit a baseball out of the park or dunk a basketball.
Let’s put our praise and value into perspective. It isn’t that we don’t commend our spouses and kids. I don’t mean that we do not praise them for doing well in their studies, hobbies and sports. But they will quickly learn what really matters to us by what we praise, and what really gets our positive (or negative) attention.
If the Lord alone will be exalted, then our wives and kids need to see that is what really matters to us.