Lead by Example

Joshua 24:15 - "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Your Circle of Influence

We live in a world that is extremely interconnected. With a few clicks of a button on a device that fits in our pockets, we can know just about anything we need to know. This can be useful at times, such as when things like war and natural disasters break out. We can be more prayerful for those impacted by these kinds of tragedies. Having access to the internet can also be useful when we need to look up a quick answer for a DIY project or the score of the football game we have to miss out on to take our wives shopping on Black Friday. In my case, I streamed the games on Black Friday while I trailed my wife through all the stores she wanted to visit. It is truly amazing how far technology has come in my 27 years of life. But how often do we stop and think about the negatives?

Technology is wonderful, but far too many people these days get far too enmeshed in it. We easily neglect those in our close circle of influence because we just can't help but scroll through social media, mindlessly absorbing information that may or may not matter much. Stop and think about it. Do you have meals with your family with or without cell phones, tablets, or TVs? How often are your evenings spent scrolling as you sit near your wife and/or your children? Regardless of whether we find social media to be useful or not, it clearly distracts us from investing our best into our circle of influence - our family and friends.

When you accept Jesus Christ as Lord, your circle of influence seems to naturally grow. As men, when we let the Holy Spirit shape us into who God intended us to be, we become leaders and heads of families, churches, ministries, and workplaces.

Godly Men Have Godly Families

This week's blog finds us way back in the Old Testament in the book of Joshua. Joshua was God's chosen successor to Moses. It was Joshua who would lead the people of Israel across the Jordan river and into the promised land after 40 long, difficult years in the wilderness.

Israel conquered those living in the promised land behind the leadership of Joshua, defeating 31 kings of people who were wicked, worshipped false gods, and performed many sinful acts. Joshua then divides the promised land among the 12 tribes of Israel. At the end of his life, he gathered all the tribes of Israel in Shechem to give a full account of the history of the people of Israel. Speaking for God, he started with Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor living beyond the Euphrates River. He then works through the history of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the journey into Egypt via Joseph, and the journey out of Egypt via Moses. He gave a wilderness account and walked through the various conquests in the promised land that enabled them to possess it after they crossed the Jordan River.

The people of Israel had a hard time devoting themselves to the Lord, spending 40 years wandering through the wilderness because of their disobedience and idolatry. The trip should have taken a couple of weeks (Deuteronomy 1:2). Do you see the dangers of being distracted and led by false gods?

Joshua challenges the people of Israel. Joshua 24:14-15 read, “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

So, I ask you today to choose for yourself who you will serve. When men love and lead well in a Christlike way, families thrive and nations flourish. Make the decision today to say no to the false gods and idols this world offers us. Remove the distractions that cause us to focus on things we cannot control. Focus on your circle of influence. Say yes to Jesus Christ and lead your family to follow Him.