Look What The Cat Drug In!

Look What the Cat Drug In!

Text: 1 Chronicles 16:43

Can you believe some of the stuff the cat does drag into the house? Every day in our ministry work or at secular jobs or at school or even while shopping, attitudes of the world do their best to attach themselves to us. Unknowingly, or sometimes even knowingly, we, like cat, drag that junk home with us, and it most definitely has an effect upon our families. Today we have some serious attitude cleaning to do concerning what you bring through the door of your home each day.

King David was in the middle of an awesome experience recorded in 1 Chronicles 16. He had led the Jewish people in bringing the holiest object in the world to the new capitol of Jerusalem. It was the ark of God. This was the center of the Lord’s Personal Presence on earth at this point in spiritual history. After years of its being gone, David leads in the return of the ark and he sets up a tremendous leadership structure and worship program that everyone was just beginning to celebrate. But he left behind him memorable events in Jerusalem to go on another mission - he went home.

1 Chronicles 16:43, "Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family."

Not only did David bring blessing in public ministry, he brought blessing with him when he walked in the door at home. Each day when you return to your family from wherever you were that day you bring something in the door with you:

- stress,

-tension,

-or peace.

-Selfishness and looking to have your own needs met,

-or unselfishness - looking to help people meet their needs. Do you bring positive, encouraging talk, or negative, critical talk? Do you bring coldness or affection?

In many ways, you set a tone when you walk in the door, and you’ll probably have to live with that tone for hours to come. After a stressful day it’s just human nature to walk in with a pretty self-focused mind set, carrying the garbage of the day, which we then proceed to dump all over our loved ones! But, wouldn’t you like to be like David and have it said of you "He returned home to bless his or her family."

Well, how do you do that? You have to consciously discipline yourself to mentally close out your work day as you’re traveling home. Call it "closing your office door" while you’re on the way home. You have to consciously get outside of yourself and focus on how each family member was in the morning when you left.

What was each one looking forward to?

What were they dreading?

What were they planning on?

How was each one feeling?

Now, when you walk through the door you’re already in touch with these most important people in your life. Then, you bring gifts of blessing through the door with you - like a sincere and specific question about some part of their day, or maybe a caring touch for each member of your family, or a word of encouragement for each one. Seek out each family member. Focus on them for a couple of minutes. Make them feel like they’re the only person in the world.

Give them all of you, at least for a short time. And if you make up your mind to bring blessing through the door with you, I’ll tell you, the people at your house are going to be looking forward to your return! Come home with a commitment to give a gift: a gift of you, to each person you love.

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