Jobs come and jobs go, in the end, family is all you’ve got.
This is the wise counsel I received from my manager when I was starting my IT career many years ago. This was particularly meaningful because at the time, I applied myself 120% into my career, wanting to rise very fast to the top of my profession. While this is good and recommended, I found out soon enough that money itself provides its own set of temptations, and without being grounded in family, it is possible to lose, in one day, all the money, renown, and accolades you’ve taken years to accumulate.
In the Bible, God reminded the Israelites through Joshua that He had been good to them, even when they did not deserve it. And now they had to choose whom they will serve. Either they choose Him, the true God or choose the other god’s their fathers served. Here was Joshua’s resolve:
…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD – Joshua 24:15
Notice, “me AND MY HOUSE”, not me alone. Joshua certainly was not about to leave his family behind.
Family is important. Do not leave your family behind in vain pursuit of worldly wealth or social recognition. Take your family out to the movies, take a road trip with your family to a city far away. The jobs will come and they will go, the trials will come and they will go. Yes, the success will come and it too shall pass. On your death bed, all you will have surrounding you, is not your Mercedes Benz S-class, nor your 2.4 million dollar mansion in Miami, Florida. It’s not your awards nor your record sales. All you will have, or hope to have around you at that solemn moment, will be family. Treat your family right. Don’t leave them behind.
