⁷ For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. ⁸ We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 

2 Thessalonians 3:7-9

Dear God, I was reading the June 12 devotion from Gary Thomas’s Simply Sacred devotional book, and it included this verse. He talked about setting an example for our children and pointed to the temerity Paul had to tell people to be like himself. That’s a bold thing to get tell people: “I’m doing it right. Be more like me.”

I don’t know that I am much of an example. I think some would see me as one and others would not. I was watching a two-hour interview with Tom Hanks yesterday, and it was really good. He is, overall, a seemingly great guy without a lot of guile or pretense. He doesn’t portray himself as a great, noble, honorable person. It just comes out naturally through his speaking. But then I wondered how his children and wife see him. I wonder what they think of how the public sees him. I live in a small town where I know a lot of people and they largely have a positive opinion of me. This can really be a burden for my children. I don’t try to portray myself as something I’m not. I’m not disingenuous, but I would still say that people can overestimate my “goodness.” I sometimes wonder if that doesn’t get in the way of my children wanting to follow my example because the way the community sees me isn’t realistic.

Father, I have a ton of insecurities when it comes to my children and how they see me. I feel like I failed in many ways even though I did my best not to fail. I told my wife recently that children never know how much their parents love them. We were talking about another set of parents we know, but it could apply to us as well. Our son gave us a great compliment one time, and I don’t think he meant to. When his girlfriend asked him before we met her what he thought we would think of her, he told her, “All my parents are going to care about are that I’m happy and doing well.” That was so true. That’s all we want for our children. Of course, that includes a life lived growing closer to you, but regardless, we just want our children to be happy. Sometimes that can include getting them to do things, like summer jobs, that they don’t want to do, but we know will be good for them in the long run. I guess all of this is to say, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, help me be the man you need me to be in my home with my wife, for my grown children, for my extended family, for my friends, and for my community. Don’t let me miss any opportunities you are laying out for me.

I pray all of this through the grace of Jesus,

Amen