Oct 17 2019 Matthew 10:34-42

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me

This is a tough read. And tough to navigate to good news. But this morning, I’m feeling it. Here’s where I see this today.

We are all fallible humans – my kids, my husband. I’ve vowed to love and cherish my husband, and support and love my kids. And there are times where what they want would be something other than what God desires. If I’m going to have blind allegiance to someone, I’d prefer to put my trust in God, rather than fallible humans, even if I’m married to one. Tie goes to God.

In my home, my husband and I are dealing with a challenging caregiving situation, with a very sick loved one. Occasionally, we disagree about how to proceed, or what would be in their best interest. And while it’s relatively easy to see that my husband is a fallible human and God’s will should be the right path, it’s sometimes (frequently) harder for me to acknowledge that I’m fallible, and God’s will should be the right path.

We both intend to do right, and still sometimes both want to be right for the wrong reasons. If I believe God to be a better guide than mother, father, daughter or son, perhaps God’s path is better, in the midst of parenting/caregiving disagreements with my husband. If I could stop, and invite God into that moment it might be easier to navigate. That might take our fallible human self-serving interests out of the equation. 

This morning, I’m thinking about how to let God into the parenting and caregiving disagreements I have, about how my deep love of other humans might be better served if I put their interests - and mine - behind the pure love of God. That might make a whole lot of things a whole lot easier.