Rut Response

I will be careful to lead a blameless life – when will You come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless heart. (Psalm 101:2)

We have all done it. We are annoyed at someone in our family…we are speaking our mind…our tone is not pleasant…we are mad about something that seems terribly important at the moment…then the phone rings.

Suddenly, from some reservoir within us, niceties spring forth…tones become sweeter.
The caller has no idea of what has just transpired seconds before.

How can we turn off our negativity, just like that?
Why do people with whom we have no vested interest get the best of us?
Why do our families get our go-to, careless, rut response?

God has placed us in families. He said that it is not good for man to be alone. We are blessed with the people He has given to us. At the end of our lives, after long hours at the office, or countless hours in meetings, or time spent in leisure activities…those co-workers, co-laborers, or leisure buddies will not be the ones at our bedside.
At that time, it will be our family beside us.
It has always been our family beside us.

What should our rut response be?

David, the psalmist, seems to have acknowledged the same problem when he says that he will walk in his house with a blameless heart. (Psalm 101:2)
That takes intentionality.
That takes time and care.
It means being purposeful to adjust our rut response to a new default.

We need God’s help to set our default to whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable or praiseworthy…we need to think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

We get too comfortable with those in our family.
They’ll understand.
In reality, they need to get the very best of us…first.

Jesus gave a new command to His disciples: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another. (John 13: 34, 35)

What better way to share the Gospel than to live it out in the context of our own families?
We will never live it out perfectly, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can live it out   intentionally. Sometimes our flaws and mistakes are the best way to evangelize, because in the forgiveness, we see grace lived out before our eyes.

Oh, how the world needs to see grace!
How desperately our families need grace…one to another.

What if our rut response was grace in our own house rather than the easy, careless, negative default we fall back on without thinking?

Blameless in our own house.
In our own strength…impossible.
With God…all things are possible.

What will your rut response be?