It's Okay For Your Family To Be Different.

“It’s okay for your family to be different”

Colossians 3:18-4:1

All of that…tells us of how a family should be…

It’s all in the family.

What is?

Life……….for one thing.

What’s life without family? (It would be pretty miserable.)

We need one another.

Everyone needs to be a part of a family.

And most people start that way……….whether they stay that way or not.

”A woman was at home doing some cleaning when the telephone rang. When she went to answer it….she tripped over some toys her daughter left on the floor….As she was picking up the phone….her two sons started arguing…and then the dogs starting barking….by this time…her cell phone was ringing and the other daughter was asking her questions…..when she finally answered the phone…it was her husband on the other end….who said…"Nobody’s said hello yet, but I’m positive I have the right number."

What do you think?

That may well be how it is with many families.

All families have their good days and their bad days.

Someone said, “As the home goes, so goes society and the nation.”

And this may be true.

No doubt, one of the best things that we can do is to build a godly home life!

Paul speaks about three different family-type relationships:

1- Husbands and wives

2- Parents and children

3- Masters and servants

Let’s look at the first one: HUSBANDS AND WIVES – LOVE AND SUBMISSION

It’s suggested that the difference between the sexes is this: When a couple is supposed to go out somewhere, the woman’s first thought is, “What shall I wear?” And the man’s first thought is, “How can I get out of this?”

That may be true about Eric….but not me.

There is a definitely a difference in male and female…not just physically….but in many areas or arenas of life.

We think differently, we do differently, because we are different!

Col. 3:18-19 “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.”

In the marriage, there should be mutual love and submission. Of course, everyone has their own idea of love and submission.

Someone has suggested there are four basic types of marriage:

Love and submit: Everything is done for the other person. Because of the joy it brings to both.

Hate and submit: You do something for the other person, just because it’s easier…and you don’t want to fool with it.

Hate and resist: You do things for the other person, just for spite…

Kind of like the JR Ewing/Sue Ellen marriage on the show Dallas.

They were with each other because they hated each other and they knew it bugged the other person that they were there.

Love and resist: I love you…but I don’t have time for you right now……I’m busy.

That’s how most marriages are.

And we have all been….if not still….guilty of that one.

How does a man get his wife to treat him like a king?

First…you have to treat her…..like a queen.

If we want to be treated one way…we have to treat others the same way…

But, it’s two-way street.

Both husbands and wives need to work at treating their spouse with kindness and love.

One evening after work a wife found a note taped to her steering wheel. That note led to ten more notes. The last one directed her to a restaurant where her husband waited with flowers and dinner reservations.

That guy has set a standard for the rest of us.

After making an ‘A’ on a difficult test another woman found a ‘congratulations’ card on her windshield. Her husband had driven 30 miles and spent an hour finding her car in the university parking lot just to encourage her.

Well, we certainly need to encourage one another in life and in the marriage relationship.

“That was a great meal, honey.”

“That was an outstanding sermon, dear.”

The old saying goes: “The more good stuff we put into something, the more we get out.”

This certainly holds true for marriage.

If you want a better marriage…..it starts with you…..not our mate.

The same thing goes for children, brothers and sisters, friends, employers, employees, teachers.

If you want a better friendship…it starts with you.

If you want to be treated better by your brother, sister, employee….treat them better first.

We must change our thinking and our ways, if we want a better marriage or if we want to change our mate.

And everyone wants a better marriage….or relationship.

Never forget…and always show…why you fell in love in the first place.

Number 2: PARENTS AND CHILDREN ENCOURAGEMENT AND OBEDIENCE

Col. 3:20-21 “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.”

A little boy was standing on his head……his mom saw him doing that and said “Aren’t you too young to do that? You are only six,”