Economies

After dinner this evening I was mopping the floor when the oldest child walked in to "interview" the youngest members of the family.

"James, please come over and answer a questions for me. Tell me one sentence about your family."

(Oh, this will be great! We had a great day today....went to the pool, had pizza for dinner, ...surely something will come out of his mouth to recognize the important role I play in his life. )

"Um.....We have a dog."

(Really??? That is all you have to say? I am working really hard today to make life great for you. Don't you see me scrubbing the floor?? We have a dog?? Sure, we do, but all he does is lie around all day. You don't really even like him that much. You never play with him. You just ignore him. Of all the things that you could say about our great family you pick a comment about the dog??????)

After my initial shock subsided I realized maybe this was actually a great comment to make about our family. It reminded me that you don't have to have good works to prove your value. You don't have to check things off of a list to earn love in our house. Bailey is just the dog. He does not earn his keep, but he's our dog, and we love him.

I have been spending some time this week thinking on the concept of economies. Everyone has one. I am realizing that to truly understand each other we need to learn just a little about the other's economy. What they value, what matters to them. Only then can we show love in a way that is meaningful to them. Without that understanding it is easy to make assumptions and judgements that lead us to frustration.

Through all of this I am thankful that God's economy is clear and unchanging. He just wants our acknowledgement of His role in our life and our obedience.