I shared with you last week how I have been feeling like a Mommy Slave in my household and how God showed me that my attitude to serving my family needed a bit of adjustment.  He reminded me that He is my real Master and my attitude should be that of serving Him, not man (my husband and children).

I am to serve as if unto the Lord, bringing His good into their lives.

But as I spent more time in His presence, contemplating my feelings, I realised that it was called serving and at no time was God asking me to be a doormat.

A doormat is walked over every day to meet the need of cleaning the feet of the family.  Sure it gets full of mud and generally taken for granted, but every now and then, we give it a good shake and place it back into position.  The most striking characteristic of a doormat is that it is silent about how it is being used, or abused and does not hold any expectations of the people who are walking over it.

best-quotes-messages-for-parents-day-2013-1A servant on the other hand continually thinks about how to serve well, to do good to those  they are serving.  Serving is done to please the Master and at no time did my Master ask me to encourage laziness, disrespect, lack of responsibility, unco-operation etc.  In fact in doing good, a servant has to think about how they are serving and whether their actions are in the best interest of those they are serving.

Mommy doormat does not hold expectations of good for her family, and is silent when it comes to instruction, correction, guiding.

 It is easier to be silent, but it is not necessarily good.

Train your child in the way that they should go, and when they are older, they will not depart from it. Prov 22:6

I have realised that serving my family as unto the Lord, also includes training them.  This training is often considered basic training, but they are vital lessons to be learnt in order to survive the big world out there, lessons which if not learnt contribute to the decay of society. In serving my family, it includes training them in the basics of:

  • Taking personal responsibility for yourself and cleaning up behind you.
  • Helping with household chores and doing the chores allocated to you.
  • Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank-you’ and expressing appreciation for what others do for you.
  • Doing something without being asked because you are paying attention to what needs to be done.
  • Being obedient to instructions given to you within the timeframe required.
  • Co-operating with the plans and agenda’s of the whole team or household even if it is inconvenient for you.
  • Being a team player and working for the interests of the whole family, not just your own.
  • Doing what you said you would do because others are counting on you.
  • Being respectful towards others which includes the tone of voice, eyes, body movements and language.
  • Being thankful for all I have been given by the Lord.  For everything we have comes to us from the Lord, including our parents.

I have also realised that sometimes when I am feeling like the slave in my household, it is probably because I am not training in the basics of the above.  A new job description is required for this mother.

 

If you have enjoyed this, also read:

Mommy Slave

Blaming the Teenage Hormones

Age Appropriate Satisfaction