On this Father’s day, I would like to extend thanks on behalf of fathers everywhere to all the children that make us feel loved and appreciated. The question of the day is; “how humble are you and how do you express your feelings?” This very question took me back to a painful part of my childhood that I will share with you in today’s spiritual meal.
Today’s Prayer
Father, Right now I pray for all of those fathers and others who are searching for jobs. Some are dissatisfied with what they are doing; some don’t have enough hours/pay; others don’t have a job by which to make a living; others would like something more in tune with their spiritual gifts and passions. I pray that You will open up doors to meet each one of these needs. I pray that the perfect job situation will become available for each of your children–whether young or old, experienced or inexperienced–both in the secular workplace and in the ministry. I pray that every reader who is participating in their PRIME TIME with You will be blessed beyond what they can imagine, and that they and their loved ones will be fulfilled in the professions and ministries for which You have equipped them. Please provide wisdom, knowledge, guidance, initiative, and strength for each and every one of us. May we do Your will and may You be glorified. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Humility in Relationships
I’ll never forget the first time I discovered what real hurt feelings were. I was in 8th grade and I was given my first athletic award. I had no one there representing my family to share the moment with. I truly believe that was when I decided that I was going to be a mentor when I grew up. I wanted to help other young people so they would not have to experience that horrible feeling of heart break I felt at that moment. Since then, I have discovered many men still live in the condition of not knowing the difference between information and feelings. It took an older mentor to help me understand the difference between information and a feeling. Wives are frustrated because their husbands share information, but not their feelings. They want to know what is going on inside their man. The fact is, most men have not been taught to identify feelings, much less how to share them. It is something that men must learn to do because it is not a natural trait. If they do share their feelings, society often portrays them as weak. No man willingly wants to be portrayed as weak.
In order to become an effective friend and leader, we must learn to be vulnerable with others and develop an ability to share feelings. It is a vital step to becoming a real person with whom others can connect emotionally. This is not easy to do if your parents didn’t teach you to share your emotional life with others. Emotional vulnerability is especially hard for men. Author Dr. Larry Crabb states, “Men who as boys felt neglected by their dads often remain distant from their own children. The sins of fathers are passed on to children, often through the dynamic of self-protection. It hurts to be neglected, and it creates questions about our value to others. So to avoid feeling the sting of further rejection, we refuse to give that part of ourselves we fear might once again be received with indifference. When our approach to life revolves around discipline, commitment, and knowledge [which the Greek influence teaches us] but runs from feeling the hurt of unmet longings that come from a lack of deeper relationships, then our efforts to love will be marked more by required action than by liberating passion. We will be known as reliable, but not involved. Honest friends will report that they enjoy being with us, but have trouble feeling close. Even our best friends (including spouses) will feel guarded around us, a little tense and vaguely distant. It’s not uncommon for Christian leaders to have no real friends. [Larry Crabb, Inside Out”(Colorado Springs, Colorado: Navpress, n.d.), 98-99.]
If this describes you, why not begin on a new journey of opening up your life to others in a way that others can see who you really are? It might be scary at first, but as you grow in this area, you will find new freedom in your life. Then, others will more readily connect with you.
Quote of the Day
The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer, nor those who say they believe in prayer, nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean these people who take time and pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. This something else is important, very important, and pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer. There are people that put prayer first, and group the other items in life’s schedule around and after prayer.
~S. D. Gordon~