The Origin, Necessity and Blessing Of Labor (part 2)

Bethlehem Bible Church

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Father, we thank You this morning that we have

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Your Word. We thank You that we have Your Spirit. We thank You that You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on behalf of sinners who deserve nothing but Your wrath.

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Lord, we pray that as we look to Your Word this morning that You would guide us, that You would bless this time.

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Father, that You would remind us once again that You are sovereign and that You sovereignly love us even with regard to giving us the blessing of work.

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Lord, bless this time in Christ's name. Amen. Well, I have to tell you, even as I've been kind of studying ahead and studying about heaven, it's gotten me a little bit excited.

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It's good. I like reading about heaven. Work? You know, heaven, now that's something

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I really like. We were talking about, we began talking about work, labor last week.

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I thought it was appropriate on Labor Day weekend. I do find it funny that Labor Day is a day off.

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How does that work exactly? But anyway, talking about how it was commanded even before the fall, you know, we always think, at least

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I certainly do, that work is a result of the curse. Well, it's not. Work became harder as a result of the curse.

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We talked about how God works, about how God in the person of Jesus Christ works, and that if God took a day off, everything would cease to exist.

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We talked about the fall and some limited aspect.

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We talked about what our attitude should be towards work. You know,

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I mean, think about some of the phrases that go around our culture. What happens when it's

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Friday? Yeah, how about, thank God it's Monday. Thank God it's

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Tuesday. Every day you should be thanking the Lord. We talked about a

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Christian avoiding laziness. You know, there's nothing more impressive to an employer than someone who works hard.

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I don't care what line of work that is. When I was in middle management,

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I mean, I just wanted to find people who would work hard, and it's, I don't know how many people here are bosses or managers or anything of that sort of thing, but if you, in this day and age, if you can get somebody who actually wants to work, you almost have a jewel, you know, a rare find.

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It is difficult. So if you want to stand out, you young people, just work hard. You will stand out.

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We talked about the need to give a consistent testimony by working hard. And we talked a little bit, some interesting words here, you know, undisciplined.

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If a person is undisciplined, when Paul talks about someone who is undisciplined, unwilling to work, and the

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Greek actually would give the idea of a freeloader or a sponge, busybodies, those who are concerned with the lives of others.

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And we even talked about how the eventual result of a refusal to work, you know, obviously if you're able -bodied, could be church discipline.

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We talked about working for unreasonable bosses, and I think we're down at the bottom of page four.

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I think we got that far. Working for unreasonable bosses and keeping in mind that in that time,

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I mean, think about when Peter wrote, you know, what sort of things could a boss do to a slave owner due to his slave?

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Beat him. Slaves were property. So if you think you have a bad boss, just dial the clock back 2 ,000 years and think about what your life might have been like back then.

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I wanted to talk this morning about the consequences of imbalance.

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What do I mean by imbalance? Mentally, no.

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Thank you for playing. Imbalance with context of work.

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Anybody ever heard the phrase, the word, workaholic? What does that mean?

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Putting work above everything. I think that sums it up quite well. Anybody know anyone like that?

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Do you know anybody who works 60, 70, 80 hours a week, 90 hours a week, whether they have to or not?

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I mean, I have a friend who's an attorney when he graduated from law school. The expectation. Now, how many hours are there in a week?

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168 for those who get paid by the hour. Sometimes we calculate those things out because overtime and other things like that.

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I don't get paid by the hour, but I used to. 168 hours a week.

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So if you work 80 or 90 hours a week, throw in a little time for sleeping, and you don't have much else going on.

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But this friend of mine worked 90 hours a week after he got out of law school because that was the expectation for a new hire.

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What happens when we do that? Let's look at Luke 12, 16 to 25.

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And I kind of termed this, well, I did term it, a life lived like a pagan.

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Sounds pretty harsh. Does that mean that working a lot is a sin? No. But it can be.

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It can be. It depends on your motivation. So many issues are not determined whether they're necessarily right or wrong.

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It is a matter of the heart. It's a matter of your priorities, as Becky was saying. Luke 12, verses 16 to 25.

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And he, talking of Jesus, by the way, does anybody have the ESV?

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There's nothing wrong with having the ESV. Now, just curious, is the he capitalized?

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16? No. It's just kind of because Pastor Mike said something about that.

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He's been reading the ESV a lot. And he said the only thing that really bothers him about it is the pronouns not being capitalized because it really helps you know who's speaking.

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You don't have to guess so much. So anyway, it's Jesus. And he told them a parable saying, the land of a rich man was very productive.

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And he began reasoning to himself saying, what shall I do since I have no place to store my crops?

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Then he said, this is what I will do. This is my solution to my problem. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones.

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And there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come.

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Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, you fool.

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This very night your soul is required of you. And now who will own what you have prepared?

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So is the man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Verse 22.

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And he said to his disciples, for this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life as to what you will eat, nor for your body as to what you will put on.

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For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap.

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They have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than birds.

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And which of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to his life's span?

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Obviously the answer is, no one can. What's the point that Jesus is trying to make in this passage, or that he does make?

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And he went bold, pegging. It's me, me, me,

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I, I, I. The guy is, you know, I've done this, and I've got this, and look at all

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I've done. And, you know, in the end, what does he do? He rewards himself. How many people have ever heard, you know,

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I think I deserve a vacation. I think I deserve, you know, a day off. I think

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I deserve hot fudge sundae. Whatever it is. You know, I deserve this, I deserve that. Yeah, that's certainly part of it.

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He's completely self -reliant. Anything else? Yes, Joanie.

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It doesn't impress God. All that stuff doesn't impress God. What is, you know, ultimately he has all this stuff, and his soul is required of him.

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That's not going to do it. It is reminiscent of when Piper says, you know, talking about Christians, and they die, and, well, he says the goal of Americans is to retire by age 50 and move to Florida and collect seashells, you know, or work on your golf game or whatever, you know.

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I mean, just imagine, I've used the shell thing before, but imagine going before God on Judgment Day and say, look at my handicap, look at my last scorecard, look at, you know, those things don't matter.

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It doesn't impress

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God, but what's the biggest issue here? Go ahead.

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Everything he has is from God, absolutely, and he doesn't acknowledge that at all, Becky. He's not relying on God, true, because Jesus definitely stresses that point with the disciples, right?

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He's not acknowledging God in terms of if the Lord wills or anything else. Yes, Pam. Yeah, he's not thinking about the fact that he's going to die someday, and all this stuff is meaningless.

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Who gets it after he dies? You know, Jesus doesn't address that, but he does say it. He says, who's going to get all this stuff?

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It's not going to be this guy. You know, I mean, we could summarize it kind of this way, right?

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You can't take it with you. All these things that he values so much, you know,

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I'm going to tear down my old, so I'm going to build new barns. I'm going to build a new warehouse.

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I'm going to open new savings accounts. I'm going to start new companies. I'm going to do all this other stuff, and then he dies, and what good is it?

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His security is in his possessions. Exactly. Anything else? Yes, Reynolds.

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I mean, exactly right, Reynolds. I mean, think about it this way. If everything here is going to be destroyed, 2

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Peter says, he is, you know, just storing. I mean, it's like there's a fire coming, and he's getting all the wheat and chaff and everything he can.

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He might be sorting it out. He might be making it all look nice, you know, whatever, but it's all going to go up. He is totally focused on the things of this world,

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Pam. That's another great point.

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He has all this stuff that he could be using for the kingdom of heaven if he were saved.

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Look at what the NAC on the top of page 5, that's the New American Commentary, says, one can avoid becoming a slave to possessions by recognizing their temporary quality.

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The rich fool didn't realize that he owned nothing. All he had, even his life, was on loan and could be called in at any time.

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Slave to his possessions. I mean, do you ever think that I have become a slave to the things that I own, to the things that I work for?

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I like a lot of the things that Dave Ramsey says, and he says if you owe money to people, then guess what?

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You're their slave. You have to work for them. You can't say, you know what, I think

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I'm just going to quit my job and go serve the Lord in Mozambique.

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I'm going to go, you know, do whatever. Why? Because you owe money to Chevy Chase, Ford Motor Credit Company, whatever.

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I mean, they own you until that money is paid off. Warren Wearsby says, it is not a sin to be wealthy, but it is a sin to make wealth your

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God. And as he goes on to say, you know, I, me, my, all the things that you guys pointed out, this man's life, his priorities were wrong.

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As Christians, can we fall into that trap? Let's skip down to Roman numeral three down here.

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Priorities out of order. I think when I came, I always like to say audition.

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When I came in, what is the right word? Oh, candidated, yeah.

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Audition, candidate. I talked about, open audition

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Friday night. I talked about having priorities right. It's so important.

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If someone's life is falling apart, and you start talking to them, what are you going to find out?

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You know, their marriage is falling apart, they're upside down financially, all these things are going on, what are you going to find out?

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That their priorities are not right. You know, you talk to somebody, and you find out that they're getting a divorce, and you say, well, what's going on?

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Well, we grew apart. Well, it's no wonder. The guy was working 85 hours a week. You know, he came home after his two -hour drive, and slept, and got up the next morning, did the same thing again, and you know, after a while, your roommates have to have your priorities straight.

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What's our first priority? Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

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And then, your neighbor as yourself. You have to have your priorities in life right. Let's look at 1

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Timothy 5 .8. Men cannot be providers alone, but they must be providers.

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1 Timothy 5 .8. And who has that?

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Bruce. Okay, now, in this particular passage, it's especially talking about widows, relatives, you know, who would not, in that culture, have been able to care for themselves.

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But I think the principle is pretty much universal. Imagine, what would we say to a husband who says, you know, we're really upside down at home.

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We're just not making our ends meet. I pay my bills, but my wife, she's just not pulling her weight.

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See if I got this right now. You're paying your bills, but she's not pulling her. What is she responsible for?

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Well, she's got to take care of this, that, and the other thing. Okay, and so all your check is going to your bills?

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Well, no, you know, I've got other things I'm certainly saving for my retirement. I mean,

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I've talked to people that are in similar situations like that. It's like they're roommates, or they've got separate finances.

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I had a couple ask me, well, what about separate checking accounts? And I go, well, you know, how about a prenuptial agreement?

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Would you like me to talk to you about that? And I go, well, that's absurd. And I said, so are separate checking accounts.

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Because what you're saying is, if anything goes wrong, I want to be ready. I want to be ready to go.

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I don't really trust that other person with my money. Well, then don't marry him, right?

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Look at what Matthew Henry says. If men spend that upon their lusts, which should maintain their families, they have denied the faith and are worse than infidels.

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Man doesn't make a whole lot of money. The family is struggling financially. And I talked to him, and he says, yeah, well, you know, things are tough, but I've got a two handicap.

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Good for you. That's great. How often are you out on the course? Twice a week, you've got to be there.

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There's something wrong. Your priorities are wrong. And that's the easy one. But, I mean, it's pretty surprising how often this can get out of hand.

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When we talk about men should be providers, young couples, wife makes twice what the husband makes.

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They're going to have a child. You know, what's the tendency? Have the dad stay home, the stay -at -home dad.

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What's wrong with that? Becky is so smart.

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It's not biblical. It's not biblical. You know, can that happen?

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I just don't know how. You know, I was talking with someone the last few days here, and talking about a couple that's getting ready to get married.

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They don't go to this church. But he comes from a background which seems like it's more theologically solid than her, but they're going to go to her church.

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And I just heard that, and I just said, well, it sounds to me like what he's telling her is, I'll spiritually lead you, honey, wherever you want to go.

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What is that? That's not leadership. And for the man to be...

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What does Genesis 3 talk about in terms of the curses? Man is to work. He's going to work by the sweat of his brow.

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It's going to be hard. For the woman, her desire is going to be for her husband, which really implies that her desire is going to be to rule over him,

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I heard somebody say. So we're going to put the wife in the position, basically, of financial leadership of the family, but she's going to go out and make the money.

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He's going to stay home while she makes more money. And here's my message to you.

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Do with less. Do with less. Do what God commands, and you will be blessed.

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Have the husband go get two jobs until such time as you can afford to live on one.

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But whatever it takes, the man has to be the breadwinner. Why? Because that's what God says.

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Now suppose he can't find a job. Well, okay, there are a lot of what -ifs. I mean, you know, I used to... There's nothing

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I despised more in my career in law enforcement than briefing.

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Because in the beginning of my career, I mean, it was a great time for practical jokes, which I liked, but it was 15 minutes before our shift.

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We would have a briefing for the day, and they would tell us what was going on and what we could expect. Well, eventually, the county decided they didn't want to pay for that 15 minutes, so we stopped having that.

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And then once a week, we would meet in the middle of our shift for, like, supposedly a half hour to have briefing.

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And that half hour turned into an hour and sometimes longer, and I would say from time to time, it's time to put the brief back in briefing.

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All that to say, I don't even know where I was going with that. Where was

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I going? Paris, France. No. Talking about priorities,

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I really don't remember where I was going. Okay. Bottom line. The man has to work.

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What ifs. Oh, yeah. Because what if questions... Here's... Yeah, thank you, Charlie. What if questions.

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Because what if questions can go on and on and on. What if, what if, what if. Listen. If the husband doesn't have a job, or if you have a young couple, no kids, you know, they both are working, fine.

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If there's a situation that comes up where both have to work for a time, fine. You know, can

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I say, chapter and verse, that a woman should not work? No. What I will say is that if you want to learn about priorities, if you want to learn about putting your children first, putting your marriage first, all those kind of things, you will learn how to do with less.

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It's a difficult thing today because what is all of our worldly influence tell us?

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More. Have it all. Nothing should stop you from having anything. That is a great point.

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Charlie said, the world says that there is more worth in one role than in another. And that role is career.

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Right? If you're a housewife, somehow you should be embarrassed.

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I think it's gotten a little bit better in some respects. I mean, certainly you can get on a game show or something like that and say

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I'm a housewife and the host will be nice to you. They won't, you know, they won't be like, oh, how good for you.

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They'll be actually, you know, like, oh, that's great. How many kids do you have? You know, that kind of thing. But there is this kind of bias against a woman staying at home.

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Like, that's something wrong. Like, why can't you put your kids in child care and why can't you, you know, get on the fast career track?

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Again, I'm not saying that you cannot work because I don't think there's a verse that says you cannot work. But we're going to look at that in a minute here.

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Kisdemacher says about 1 Timothy 5 .8, he has denied it, denied the faith, not by means of words necessarily, but what is often far worse, by means of his sinful negligence.

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Lack of positive action. The sin of omission gives lie to his profession of faith.

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So, what he's basically saying is, listen, you say you're a believer and yet you're not willing to support your family.

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That makes you worse than an unbeliever in terms of how you're actually living your life.

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Primary responsibility as the head of the household. Let's look at Ephesians 5 .23. We often refer to Ephesians 5 .25,

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Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. Just backing up here a little bit in Ephesians 5 .23.

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And who has that? Go ahead,

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Chris. Now there's a comparison.

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You know, no one would say that the church shouldn't be subordinate to Christ.

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But whenever I do a wedding, I always have to almost, I don't want to apologize, but it's almost like I feel like I have to explain why the wife should have to submit to her husband.

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It's because he is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church.

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And being the head means what? Being in charge.

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But also notice, as I said, verse 25, he must love sacrificially, must love his wife like Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

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How did he do that? By laying down his life. You know, I say,

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I think the hardest commandment in all of scripture, humanly speaking, is for a wife to submit to her sinful husband.

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But if he's loving sacrificially, it becomes a great deal easier. Husbands must also be understanding and mindful of their wife's weaknesses.

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1 Peter 3 .7 Again, the context of 1 Peter 3, Peter is writing to believers about how to deal with unbelievers.

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So he's saying, in this case, talking to believing husbands who have unbelieving wives.

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And who has that? 1 Peter 3 .7 Go ahead, Will. So is

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Peter just a sexist there? What does he mean when he says, since she is a woman, like she's somehow lesser?

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What's his point, Charlie? Charlie says it's an elevation of women over the culture of that day.

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I said this when I preached through this passage. In that culture, a wife would be expected to have the same religion as her husband.

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She would be expected to have his friends. Not friends of her own, not friends on Facebook, not friends via email, but his friends.

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So for a Christian to have an unbelieving spouse, the culture at that time would say, you know what?

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Treat her like dirt. Do whatever you want. Beat her. Ignore her. Shun her.

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And Peter says, no. Don't do that. What does he say? Live with your wives in an understanding way.

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And he goes on to say, not only that she is a fellow error in the grace of life, but he goes on to say, listen, if you don't do that, your prayer life is going to be hindered.

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It's going to be hindered. But it's also interesting that he says that she is someone weaker.

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There are various understandings of this. The most obvious one is,

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I think for the most part, women are physically weaker. That may not always be the case, but it's usually the case.

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I mean, we don't see many pictures of the bride carrying the groom up the stairs. It's pretty rare.

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But I think there's also an emotional component to that. Why would that be?

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You know Becky's on fire this morning. Hormones. Karen.

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Eve was deceived. Yeah, I think so. I think that's part of it. When I say

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I think she's emotionally weaker, I think women tend to be more tender. Maybe not so much in our house.

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I think I'm wimpy, and she's pretty strong. But typically,

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I think the wife tends to be more... I've used this kind of illustration before.

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I think for men, once an argument, a fight, or some event is over, it's typically over.

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I mean, I can't remember most of the things in my life. I'll be like, okay, and then what happened?

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It could be last week, and I'd be like, refresh my memory. But what happens when the wife gets upset about something, and you think it's resolved, and two months later, kind of a similar issue happens?

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You don't remember it. And she remembers what clothes she was wearing. She can go through the whole nine yards.

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There is a sense in which, I mean, we're just different. God has designed us differently, which is a good thing.

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It really works. You know, it's good that men are stupid and forget things, and that's good most of the time.

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Not so much on birthdays or anniversaries or things like that. She'll say, well, don't you remember it was the same time last year?

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More or less. It can be a good thing, but we need to be mindful of that, that women are more sensitive to things.

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You can say things to a guy that you just can't say to your wife. That's just true.

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Mike says a lot of things to me. No, I'm just kidding. There are things you can say to your wife that you cannot say, or a guy, that you cannot say to your wife.

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Just because they just won't kind of get it. It just won't go over well.

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So you need to be mindful of that. They're certainly weaker physically. Don't expect women to be out there, you know, digging dishes and stuff like that.

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Some ladies can and some can't, and that's fine. But a husband must love sacrificially.

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He must be mindful that she is different than he is. That's the main thing. Just different.

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She doesn't think like you think. She doesn't want to think like you think, and that's good.

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It's very good. Let's talk about women for a few minutes here. Wives, specifically.

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Let's look at Titus 2, verses 3 -5. Don't we have a Titus 2 ministry going on here at the church?

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Where the ladies are being encouraged in this respect, and this is a good thing. I don't know why we...

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Why is there never a Titus 2 men's ministry? Because men are addressed in Titus 2 also, but it just never seems to follow.

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I don't know why that is. Titus 2, verses 3 -5.

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Who would like to read that? Go ahead,

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Becky. Thank you.

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I just don't know how you can read this and think that it would be a good thing for a wife to be working and for the husband to be at home.

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I mean, you can make a lot of arguments about, you know what, we need to do this, or we have a time in our lives where we need to do this, or this is just the reality of where we are.

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But when you see older women are to encourage the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure workers at home.

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Can you be a worker at home and have a job? I think you can. But that's going to be really, really wearing.

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Can you be a worker at home while your husband is at home all the time? I don't know.

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I don't think that's... You know, in terms of priorities, I don't think that really sounds like it's your priority.

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From the NAC commentary, they say the two Greek terms, rendered to be busy at home and to be kind, may be taken together to simply mean good workers at home.

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Taken independently, to be busy at home would indicate an efficient management of household responsibilities and kind would indicate a lack of irritability.

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And I like that because I thought wives with a lack of irritability, that would be good in light of the nagging demands of mundane and routine household duties.

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I think this is so true for young women, young mothers, you know, husband comes home from work and, you know, they want to hear all about his day and the last thing he wants to talk about is his day.

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She's been talking to two -year -olds and four -year -olds and whatever -year -olds all day.

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She wants some adult conversation. The last thing he wants is some adult conversation.

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It is tough. It is mundane and routine, but...

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Let's go back to the passage here in Titus 2. The very end of verse 5.

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"...so that, with the purpose that the word of God will not be dishonored."

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You know, there are so many things in life we just think, well, this is so mundane. This is so humdrum.

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How exciting is it to change a diaper? How exciting is it to take out the trash, to wash the dishes?

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"...so that the word of God may not be dishonored." What does it say to your neighbors when your life is no different than theirs?

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When they can hear you screaming at each other through the open windows, you know, down the street, what does it say? It says, well, they're not any different than us except for on Sunday they go to church.

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Look at the Carthus Study Bible, authorized version. It says right there, down at the bottom of the page, "...keeping

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a godly home with excellence for one's husband and children is a Christian woman's non -negotiable responsibility."

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Notice he doesn't say, you cannot work. He says, these are your non -negotiable responsibilities.

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It is a non -negotiable responsibility for a man to provide for his household, and it is a non -negotiable responsibility for a woman to keep a godly home with excellence for her husband and children.

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Priorities. You set them right. You know, work is a commandment from God, is a blessing from God, is how we are to provide for our families, provide, you know, home, clothing, food, all the things that we need in life.

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But it's not the end all and be all. Work is not to consume us. Work should never consume us.

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On the other hand, you know, when we think about, you know, the American dream is, I mean, for a lot of people,

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I think about the guy in West Virginia who won the lottery, and what did he want to do right away? You know, well, what do most people who win the lottery do?

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They quit their job. And then they go broke, but that's a whole other story. The American dream is to stop working.

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Stop working. God doesn't say stop working. He doesn't say, you know, retire early so you can really enjoy life.

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Work is a blessing of the Lord. But having our priorities in order, you know,

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I had, before I was a believer, I was driving,

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I think, 65 miles to work into L .A. I had some crazy schedule where I had to be there at 6 in the morning one day, and then noon the next day, but then that meant

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I'd get off at 8 .30 and then have to get up and go to work the next morning at 6. And, you know, it was just wearing me out, and I just thought,

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I need to go somewhere else. And so I went in and I talked to the captain, and he basically said, you know,

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I understand exactly where you're coming from, Steve. You know, when I was a young deputy, I had a similar situation. And I had to choose between my family and my job, and my family lost.

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He didn't say it quite that nicely. And I just thought, I'm just sitting there listening, and I'm going,

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I'm going to get nowhere with this guy. I'm done. Many people will not understand this concept.

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For Christians, this is primary. If you live a life according to the commandments of God, your life will not be ever easy, but it will be a lot more simple.

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The highs and lows will be a lot less noticeable. There will be a lot more peace in your home. God knew what he was doing.

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God designed us for a purpose. God gave us direction on how we ought to live. Any questions about work?

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Marriage? Any questions about marriage? Next week, yeah,

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Scott. Head coverings for women.

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Yes, I can talk about that. I'm very much looking forward to Pastor Mike preaching through 1

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Corinthians starting here in a few weeks. And when he gets to chapter 11, sometime before he retires early.

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No, I'm kidding. Yeah, we should find out all about head coverings. Next question. Dottie.

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Go ahead. Dottie makes some excellent points there.

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She said that in other churches sometimes they will, with Carol specifically, because Carol is quite well educated, they said it's too bad all that education you have is going to waste.

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Dottie says, well, it couldn't be better used. She used it to raise her kids and to instruct them.

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So true. And she talked about how so many people put career as the preeminent thing, kind of what

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Charlie was saying. And I have to tell you, I called

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Dottie a few weeks ago and got her answering machine. And it was her voice in the office of Harold Steinhelfer and it just really kind of choked me up.

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It is just, Jen and I went out some time ago to see Harold. It's just a blessing to see theology so well lived out where you actually do what the

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Bible commands right from the beginning of your marriage to however long the Lord would have you to be married.

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Priorities matter. What the world sees us doing matters.

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Again, I want to stress, I'm not saying to any woman who has a job here, you're in sin.

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Repent and sackcloth in ashes. Quit tomorrow. I'm saying as a matter of priorities, you have to be, the man needs to be providing, woman needs to be a worker at home, and however you guys work that out, but it needs to be to the glory of God.

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Yes, Dottie. Dottie said one of the nurses, where Harold is, said, you know, kind of this career business, talking to her kids, was that it?

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Said, you know, this career business is for the birds. And, you know, I think too, so many times, and again, it's going to sound like I'm against,

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I think that there are a number of things that happen. Let's put it this way.

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If both people in a marriage are out in the world, being exposed to all kinds of things during the day as they're working, and the man is being presented with his own temptations, the woman is being presented with her own temptations,

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I'm not saying that either one is less. I'm saying that if both are being pulled away from the marriage constantly by the pressures of career, by the desires of other people, whatever the cause may be, that puts a lot of strain and stress on the marriage.

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And, yeah, Charlie, go ahead. Well, I don't even think about, you know, we understand

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Jesus was a carpenter. Well, why was he a carpenter? That was the family business, you know.

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So dad showed the son the family business, that's what you did, and he worked in the business.

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So it's like Charlie said, so it's the, you know, the progress of the

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Industrial Revolution, modernization, has progressed us to the point where it's difficult for anybody to stay at home, but the ideal would be for the wife to be a worker at home.

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Yes. I see we're out of time.

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No. Well, I mean, think about, good question, Reynolds. I mean, and good point, think about this now.

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I already kind of laid it out to where we had the husband being pulled in one direction, the wife being pulled in another direction if she's working, and, you know, their child being either in daycare or public school all day long and pulled in a third direction, and we wonder why there are problems in the home.

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We wonder why, you know, it's funny to watch TV shows where the kids show no respect to their parents, the parents show no respect for one another, you know, and why?

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It's because they live in separate worlds and they just happen to come together for an hour or two a day. You know, in this world, it's become so common to have more in common with strangers or people, you know, that you're with,

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I guess they're not strangers, but co -workers, fellow students, whatever, than you do with your own family.

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And that's really not, that's not the ideal. That's not what we should be striving for. We should be striving for that harmony within the family unit.

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You know, homeschooling is certainly one thing that people do to kind of try to re -establish that family unit, because the world system is trying to tear it apart.

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Charlie. And by the way,

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Charlie will be doing our next IBS class on the history of Western civilization. But, yeah, and I mean, as the parent of kids who were in public school, you know, maybe they're the worst for wear, but they seem to have survived it okay.

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So, you know, I mean, I don't think there's necessarily, I think everyone has to do what is right for them.

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I think there are some struggles that go with everything. You know, whatever your preferred method is.

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I don't think homeschooling is always easy either, because, you know, moms don't get any kind of break from the kids.

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So, I mean, there are struggles all the way around. So, difficult. Anyway, we need a closing prayer.

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If you have any more questions, come up and see me afterward. Father, thank you for your word.

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Thank you for the pattern that you've set out for work, for our homes, for ways that we can seek to glorify you in all that we do.

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Lord, some of these issues are difficult, but you are sovereign.

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You have sovereignly ordained the means by which we are to operate our families to try to honor you with them.

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Father, I pray for each family here, whether they be dual income families or struggling on one income, well provided for by one income, unemployed, looking for work, whatever the situation.

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Father, I pray that you would just cause us, first of all, to not be like that man who just sought after stuff, but to honor you in all that we do, to honor you with our work, to honor you in our homes, to honor you before the world in all that we say and do and how we portray you to a world that is watching.