If you love people well, you have a ministry. When you shift your focus onto your ministry, you risk leaving love for a vocation.
God is love, and as a result, He ministers to us. God is not ministry, and as a result, He loves us. That’s backwards. Sometimes those in “full time ministry” struggle loving people. Why? Because now it’s their job. While the Lord does give people specific ministries, those ministries still work by love. As we know, faith works by love (see Galatians 5:6). Apart from faith, we cannot minister effectively. Apart from love, faith becomes ineffective.
While we are to be good stewards with our ministry, we need to keeps things in proper order. Have you ever wondered why some “preachers’ kids” (PKs for short) want nothing to do with church? In numerous cases, they took a backseat to the ministry. Like it or not, we are designed to need love and attention. When children don’t get the proper love and affection from their parents, there is a good chance rebellion is about to hit the household. They will get their attention by testing their parents’ love. Is it good to save the world while letting your children to go to hell in a hand basket?
While bonafide emergencies do arise, not everything is a crisis in ministry. If you constantly break promises because “someone has to talk right now,” you will not be trusted by your family for very long. If you are simply filling squares with your family, so you can go minister, you are not loving your family well. 1 Timothy 3:2-5 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3. Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4. One that rules well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5. (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) In order to rule your household well, you must love well. Think about this: God our Father does not fill squares. He is ever present and very detailed about everything concerning us. He makes sure His family is taken care of.
Sometimes, one of the best ways to minister to others is simply leading by example. If you have a ministry of which people are aware, know that you are being watched. This is not meant to cause you to walk on eggshells; rather, encourage you to walk in love. When those who are connected to your ministry observe your love, they will be spurred on to love. If they see that you indeed keep boundaries in order to protect your family, they will tend to emulate the same thing.
