Five Keys To Balancing Home And Work To Be A Good Parent

Five Keys To Balancing Home And Work To Be A Good Parent

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV).

Most, if not all, of us have a job in order to supply for the needs of our family. Hopefully you enjoy your job but at the end of the day, you are working to provide for your family.  We often feel the struggle between balancing work life and family life. As such, our work may sometimes cause us to miss ball games and other events and we’ll feel guilty that we’re not being a good parent. I have gathered five keys to help you balance your home and work life and be the parent that God has called you to be.

Focus on being a Godly parent.  Children are always watching their parents and they put much more importance on actions than words. One of my favorite sayings is from St. Francis of Assisi: “Speak the gospel wherever you go and use words when necessary.”

You cannot lead somebody to a place where you are not.  Complete and honest self-examination is one of the most difficult things that we can do.  However, it is necessary to do this so we can continue to grow in our relationship in Christ. We must continually examine and then prune ourselves. We should pray for each day to grow closer to Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to remove more of yourself from your soul and allow more of Christ to fill the void.

Remember the First Commandment.  We know that we are not to have any gods before God. However, work and home life should not be put before your spiritual life. Matthew 6:24 tells us about the dangers of trying to serve two masters.

Pray for discernment.  A life out of balance is often due to us trying to lead God and not following. We can seek discernment from prayer, Christian friends, local pastor and The Bible.

Raise your children right.  We all love our children, but we must be careful not to spoil them. They need to see that in our words and actions, we are putting God first, spouse second and children third. Scripture reveals that our primary responsibility is to train our children to honor God and follow His teaching. Proverbs 7:2 reads, “Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.”

Prayer:  Dear God, Thank you for being our Father. Help us to find balance in our lives.  Amen.

Meet the Author

Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

We welcome your comments below.

Thank you for visiting. We trust that you have enjoyed reading our articles.

Liked this post?

Read more below or search for more topics...

  • The Best Christmas Present

    The Best Christmas Present 18 “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.  We implore you on behalf ofChrist, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).I love Christmas and the Advent season.   It is a special time of year for families and the church.   The Advent season allows us to prepare our hearts for the birth of the Christ child.   I also love all of the traditions that come with Christmas – decorating the tree with ornaments that have been passed down from generations, giving and receiving presents,...
  • Wisdom from the Psalms

    Wisdom from the Psalms “Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands” (Psalm 119:66). As a young child, I did not particularly enjoy reading the Psalms.  I found them to be boring, and I could not understand or relate to them.  Upon my confirmation, I received a red-letter, King James Version Bible with very thin pages and no commentary to help explain what I was reading.  Years later I overheard a man ask a preacher, “What version (King James, NIV, NRSV, etc.) of the Bible is the best?”  The preacher responded, “The best version is whatever version you will...
  • When You Walk Through The Fire, You Will Not Be Burned

    When You Walk Through The Fire, You Will Not Be Burned “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2 NIV).  Please closely read the Scripture at the top of this blog.  Hopefully, everything is going great for you in your life right now.  However, if you are not in a period of adversity now, you will be sometime in the future.  More about that later. As I think...