Living Life in a Glass House...

This is a post for all the people who are in the ministry and those of you who attend church and have a pastor's family. So I guess that this post covers all of you!

Can you imagine living in this glass house? No privacy! Can you imagine that everybody in the neighborhood will see what goes on in your house? I think that the designer forgot something when he built this house...

Okay this part is for everybody out there...to all you saved people out there who attend a church with a pastor and family....and to those in the ministry...

The Bible says in I Samuel 16:7b, "...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
Today, we as Christians like to focus on the first part of the verse about what the Lord sees, but we tend to forget about what people see. Even if you are not in the ministry, you still live in a glass house so to speak. Ok, imagine those cars with the tinted windows, you can see in some, but not everything or everyone that is in the car. That's the difference between you and someone in the ministry. You are the one with the tinted windows, and we are the one without the tinted windows...but anyway, as I was saying, we forget that people see us. We need to remember that though I don't always know that someone is watching...they are. It may be through my actions and attitudes that someone may reject Christ or accept Christ. We must always remember that.
Now speaking of actions and attitudes...I know some people that are probably reading this are saying, "Wait a minute! I don't have an attitude! Especially toward other people!" This is where I am going to talk about my experience of living in a glass house of a preacher's kid...Don't stop reading church members, you need to know what its like! Don't stop reading, preacher's kids, parents, just because you know what it is like!

This part is to the members of the church:
Jude 22, "And some have compassion, making a difference."
Colossians 3:12-14, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."
Philippians 2:3, "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."
These are just a few verses on how we are to treat others. Please church members, you need to realize that what you do affects the pastor's family either for good or bad. This has been on my heart for so long! I have seen many preacher's kids leave the ministry, get in trouble, and now will not have anything to do with church. I know some of you think that most preacher's kids turn out bad, after all they are so spoiled. haha...I have heard that! :-) But let me say, in most cases it is not that, it is a result of the actions and the attitudes of the members that cause the children to go astray!
I am so glad that we have a great church with great members...right now, Lord willing, we have no problems that I know of, and I know that some of our members read this blog :-) and I want to warn you to be careful of your attitudes and actions it will affect someone for good or bad. It may be a bus kid or a fellow member, but it will affect someone.
There is a dear lady in our church, and she is a great example of how people's attitudes and actions affected her. When she was a teenager, she attended church with her parents, but one day, she heard a member say something against her father, and she would not go back to church until a couple of years ago, she visited our church and was saved. Our actions affect someone whether we know it or not! Plus, people in the ministry are not perfect! We are all imperfect people serving a perfect God!

Now for you people in the ministry and (even members please read too):
This is a lot easier for me to talk about...for this is me! I love it! But let me say go back and read the verses above. They all apply to you and me and everyone. We can not change people and how they react to us in the ministry, but one thing my parents have always taught me is that we are doing this for the Lord (Galatians 1:10, "For do I now persuade men or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.")
There is joy in serving the Lord. Yes, there are hard times! But it is so great to see the people in the church stand behind your family during those times. Like I said the Lord has been so good to give us good people. It is good to see how people's lives are changed by the Lord!
But we do need to remember that we do live in a glass house, I know that people watch me and my family. Some people probably don't realize that I know that they do, but I do! (Like I said, I know that some of our members look at our blogs, and I hope that I can be a blessing to them through this ministry!) :-) Even People at McDonald's watch us, people at Walmart watch us! As we are in the ministry, we are a walking testimony by our looks, by our facial expressions, by our words, by our actions, we are a walking glass house! This goes for people in the ministry and outside of the ministry. But to those in the ministry, don't give up! PK's, remember I Timothy 4:12, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Be an example! Church members, Be an example! ~ Jennifer