My House, God's Rules

As Mother’s Day approaches, we tend to think about what we can do to be better mothers. Most of us probably feel some sense of having failed to do everything we should to ensure that our children become the Godly individuals that we want them to be. This Mother’s Day, however, I hope that we will resolve to make a commitment to establish our homes as places where Jesus Christ is honored, and where His rules are never compromised. If we will do that, we will have come a long way toward becoming the Godly women that He created us to be.

After they had entered the Promised Land, Joshua called the people of Israel to him at Shechem and gave them instructions concerning their responsibilities to God. He told them that they must revere Jehovah and serve him in “sincerity and truth” and put away forever the idols that their ancestors had worshiped when they had lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt.

Joshua told the people that they must choose whom they would serve—the heathen gods or Jehovah. Then he concluded by saying, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24)

Joshua was the leader of God’s people, but they lived in a world where wickedness abounded. All of the surrounding nations were idol worshipers who indulged in the most horrible practices imaginable, and there was an ongoing spiritual battle to lure God’s people to participate in their ceremonies.

Yet, Joshua presented a very simple plan to the people of Israel: He told them to make a choice about whom they would serve, and then he declared his own choice—that he and his house would serve the Lord.

I believe that today we live in circumstances very similar to those Joshua encountered. We have the world-wide Church with its millions of sincere believers, but we are surrounded by those who hate Christ and who are always lurking about trying to seduce God’s people to join them in their wicked practices. It is, therefore, important to understand Joshua’s declaration concerning his own house.

First, he made it clear that each of the people of Israel had to decide for themselves whether they would respond to God’s laws and live accordingly, and he warned them that if they deserted God they would be destroyed—even though God had cared for them for such a long time.

Second, he took authority over the areas that he could personally control. He alone would decide what would take place within the confines of his own house, and his decision was that his house would be a place to honor God.

I have known a number of Christians who keep lowering the spiritual bar in their own homes because they want to keep their children close. They overlook drinking, pot smoking, and porn because they feel safer “knowing where their children are.” I do feel sympathy for these parents, but I do not support their decision.

Minor children need to understand, “This is my house, and everyone who lives here lives under God’s rules.”  It may sound harsh, but this attitude is entirely necessary.

When our children are grown and have their own homes, we cannot control their behavior. We hope that our teaching and example have been sufficient to lead them into their own relationships with Christ and their own decisions to follow Him, but, when they become adults, children must decide for themselves whom they will follow.

The one thing we can always control is what goes on inside our own houses. Grown children who are not serving the Lord must understand that our houses are dedicated to the service of Jesus Christ and that no conduct that dishonors Him will be tolerated there. No matter what their ages the rule still applies, “My house, God’s rules.”

Joshua 24:31 says, “Israel obeyed the Lord throughout the lifetimes of Joshua and the other old men who had personally witnessed the amazing deeds which the Lord had done for Israel.” Those of us who are now the “old” men and women who have witnessed amazing deeds that God has done in our lives have a responsibility to the younger generation. It is our duty to never let them forget what God has done for us as a country, as families, and as individuals. By reminding our children that we are set apart for His service, we ensure that they will one day be the “old” people who will set the example for future generations and will say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. For more information visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net/ or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.