Love often requires us to take the lowly position – willingly giving up our comfort and preferences to serve others. But sometimes we must also fight for our rightful place in our home and otherwise – not as a point of pride or arrogance, but to set things in order. And this too is part of our practice of love.
On the one hand, it’s our duty and privilege to lay our life down for our family. We freely offer our blood, sweat, and tears on their behalf. And in daily life this often simply means being the one who takes the hit to preserve the comfort of others. But we’re no longer serving the best interest of our family when we take this too far. While our false humility seems noble, it does not allow us to reflect God as we should.
For instance, this might mean fighting for your masculine presence to be displayed throughout the home and not merely limited to a “man cave.” It might also be initiating meaningful conversations at dinner rather than just following the chatter of others. And certainly it would include not allowing our kids or pets to kick us out of our own beds.
These issues might seem petty in the moment. And, to be fair, every incident is not worth fighting for. But we must stand guard against the subtle messages such patterns would communicate if they were allowed to continue.
Taking our place is not being a bully and pushing our own agenda. Rather, it’s submitting to the office that God has given us. We’re taking our rightful place and exercising the duties of our office because God has placed things in this order. And we distort the image of God in their lives when we do otherwise. As such, taking our place is the most loving thing we can do for them, as we teach them by our very example how to live within the grain of God’s universe.
In the end, set your home in order by taking your rightful place throughout. This is not pride, but a humble submission to the office and responsibilities God has given you.
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