"Where there is no vision [revelation], the people perish [cast off restraint], but he that keeps the law [instruction], happy is he." ––Proverbs 29:18 (all brackets author’s)

When leaders lead, bless the Lord! When leaders lead the way God intended for them to lead, He is blessed, the family is blessed, the church is blessed, and the nation is blessed.

In the recent capture of Saddam Hussein, President George Bush was asked if he will change his strategy as a result. His response was no, he would continue to follow the original plan because much time had been put into it from the beginning, and he would not stray from it because of emotional pressure. Here is a man who is under much pressure, but will stay the course to finish the job even if the job becomes unpopular. This is a leader who gives you confidence in where he’s going, his plan to get there, and how things will be when that goal is accomplished. I believe it is revelation and vision from God that gives a leader what it takes to be effective like that. Without a clear-cut vision, your purposes will be vague and will change with every emotion. I believe this is also the case in the family.

God’s instructions are the best and we must have them set before us continually or we will wander in our own opinions about what is right and wrong. Or, we will justify the things that are being robbed from our family’s success in obtaining that which God intended for us to ‘walk in’. God has a very specific plan for our families and us. Our standards for the family must be developed from above, not from the society around us, or else, our standards will be so much lower than God’s. God’s ways bring joy and peace.

If there is no clear vision, it will be easy to cast off restraint––to just sluff off the things that are too much work, too difficult or seem insignificant. But in the long run, doing this could be detrimental to the welfare of your children. Sometimes, the pressure to just raise your children without any restraint will continue to knock at the door of your conscience.

To ignore the things that you know are wrong and hope they will just go away will cause great sorrow. Look at the life of Eli the priest. Here was a man in high position in the Temple. He actually was in charge of discipling Samuel the great prophet. But the Lord found something unpleasant in the life of Eli.

"For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which HE KNOWS, because his sons made themselves vile, and HE DID NOT RESTRAIN THEM."––1Samuel 3:13 (all emphasis author’s)

Eli was not restraining his sons for the sins of which he was aware. In other words, he ignored them and did not deal with his sons about them. The story does not say this, but I believe that Eli was able to cast off restraint in his family because his vision was not set on them but "only on spiritual matters". Spiritual matters are vital, but not at the expense of failure in the family. So, not only did Eli lose his sons, but later in the story he lost the presence of God when the Ark was taken captive.

Lack of a foundation in the family will allow the enemy to steal the presence of God from your life. Yes, the Lord said He will never forsake us but we can spend much time in fighting spiritual warfare and not have time to spend with the Lord. Because we may ‘feel spiritual’, we can forsake the practical side of life and spend all our time putting out ‘spiritual brushfires’. This is even more important for those who are in leadership to understand.

God’s requirements for the leaders of the family were of great importance and they should be to us also. If we will set our foreheads like flint on the path that God has set before us, we will walk in life more abundantly and be effective leaders.

Tracey Selby Biography