When we put God first

So many of us seek happiness in our lives.  We seek it in our families, we seek it in our jobs, and we seek it in financial security.

But in this psalm, we see the key to true happiness.  The psalmist writes,

Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways.

You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.

Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.  (Psalm 128:1-4)

In other words, when we honor God first in our lives, and we choose to do things his way, he will bless us.

So many people are so worried about their finances, that they work to the neglect of their families and their health.

The result:  they don’t “eat the fruit of their labor.”  They die before their time, or lose their families in their attempt to find financial security.

But for the person who honors God, he promises to not only bless their finances, but their families as well.

When husbands love their wives as God commanded, and fathers raise their children in the way the Lord has told them to, then their wives and children will flourish.

Needless to say, this goes for wives as they honor their husbands, and children as they obey and honor their parents.  They’ll find God’s blessing as they do so.

But I think it’s important to note that most, if not all of the commands concerning the family go to the husbands and fathers first and then to the wives and children.

So men, let us step up to the plate and follow God, doing the things he’s commanded us.  And see if God won’t do as he has promised.