SOAP 03/29/2016; 2 Kings 12:15

Today's reading: Judges 6, 7; Psalm 52; 1 Corinthians 14*

S) "¹⁵ Moreover, they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hand they gave the money to pay to those who did the work, for they dealt faithfully."

2 Kings 12:15 (NASB)
*because there are already entries for each of these chapters, I also read 2 Kings 12

O) King Jehoash was a mostly-good king. While Jehoiada the priest still lived, Jehoash did a good job following the LORD. After the death of the priest, though, he turned to serve other gods. One of the things that he did well, was repairing the temple of the LORD. The men described in the verse above, were the masons and carpenters, etc., who worked on the repairs. The money was from offerings beside the altar. What particularly stood out here, was the unusual amount of autonomy and trust given to these workers. But, the fact that their faithfulness in dealings was apparently well known, there was no reason to distrust them.

A) If I want people to trust me, then I need to be trustworthy. If I want to work independently at my job, then my boss must see that I have integrity. This is a pretty straightforward principle. At the same time, his has parental application. As I see my kids are developing responsibility and integrity, I need to give them tests of trust. I need to allow them the chance to prove that they will deal faithfully, so that I am not needing them to give an account of their time or resources. I don't want to micromanage my children. Babies need constant attention, and toddlers will throw tantrums for it, but by the time my kids are... well the ages they are now... I need to give them exercises, tests, opportunities to show me they will walk with integrity.

P) Father, there is no better example of obedience than Jesus Christ. Help me to walk as a true disciple, becoming more and more like Christ in my obedience to You. Help me to lead by example, so that my kids see what it means to be trustworthy and faithful. Help them learn integrity from me, seeing the value in it. Please let them learn this before the independence of adolescence and the teenage years comes up within them. This will only be with Your grace at work in their hearts, Lord. Let Your will be done in them, that I won't need to hold them accountable, because they will deal faithfully. Let this be so in every area of their lives. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.