Many Christians have a family and a job, as well as a commitment to a church. Getting our priorities straight, and fulfilling all our obligations in a way we feel comfortable with, is a perennial problem.
In those days after Christmas, standing on the brink of a new year, we may well contemplate the old question: 'How can I better balance my time in the next 12 months?'
Facing this issue (for the umpteenth time?) it is good to realise that even the apostle Paul recognised it. 'I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs - how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world - how he can please his wife - and his interests are divided... a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world - how she can please her husband' (1 Corinthians 7.32-35). Paul does not decry marriage. Everyone has their own gift from God (1 Corinthians 7.7). But he does see the problem. And he recognises that it is often the Lord's work which misses out.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …