WE ALL HAVE TO SERVE SOMEONE – WHO DO YOU SERVE?

SCRIPTURE:
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose 
for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods 
your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the 
Amorites, in whose land you are living.  But as for me and my 
household, we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:15)

MEDITATION:
We all have to serve someone, right?
Employees serve companies in order to receive checks.
CEOs serve the stockholders.
Politicians serve the people (or at least they should).
Firemen and policemen are public servants.
Mothers serve their families in order to keep order in the home (being 
a mom and a housewife could possibly be the most difficult of all jobs).
We could add many more examples, but the point is, we all serve somebody.
However, many who claim to have given their lives to the Lord 
have chosen not to serve Him in any capacity.
They have decided that it is “undesirable” to serve the Lord.

There are at least two problems with that kind of attitude.
First of all, they gratefully accept His salvation 
but feel no obligation to do anything to show their appreciation 
(which brings into question the sincerity of their faith).
Secondly, if they are not serving the Lord, 
then something else will demand their service.
More than likely they will serve their own selfish desires 
which excludes the Lord.

When we look at the scriptures in Joshua, we see something very interesting.
He says, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”.
Joshua knew the importance 
of including the Lord as the foundation of the home.
The basic unit of any society past or present, is the home.
When the home begins to break down, society is on the way to collapsing.

How many times have you heard parents say, 
“I don’t know why my kids don’t want to go to church”?
However, when you look at the attendance record of the parents, 
you find that they attend intermittently, or in some cases, not at all.
The kids see the lack of commitment from their parents and decide “If it is 
not important enough for them, then it is certainly not important for me”.

This was not the case for Joshua – he set the example for his home and kids.
There are way too many instances where the parents “send” their children
to church instead of “taking” them to church.
Without establishing the foundation of the Lord in their lives, kids are more 
susceptible to gravitating toward all kinds of decadent things later in life.
As parents, we have an obligation to introduce our kids to the Lord, not with
words, but through actions that assure them that He is important to us.

ACTION:
Is serving the Lord desirable or undesirable for you?
Have you established the Lord as the foundation of your home?
What would your kids say about your faith?
Would they consider it to be casual at best, 
or sincere, dedicated and committed?
How has your faith impacted your children and, or, your spouse?
Do you worship Him on a convenience basis, 
or do you sacrifice your own desires in order to give Him top priority?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for not giving You the rightful place 
in my life and in my home. I realize now that all too often I serve 
“me” instead of “You”. Help me to change my priorities in order to 
establish You as the foundation of my home, so that my children can 
see what genuine praise and worship looks like. Forgive me if I have 
not established a proper example for my children. How easy it is to 
push You to one side, and superficially remember Your blessings.  
Teach me to always keep you at the center of all that we do in my home. 
Show me where and how I need to start serving You.”