A post from Allen...

The POWER BUTTON Challenge

 

I must be honest.  This is a straight-forward post.  An outright cry.  A wake-up call.  The fact is I am a guilty man.  You may ask, “What is he guilty of?” Well, let me tell you.  I am guilty of having “other gods” before my family.

Background:  I am in love with technology.  I am a geek.  I admit it.  I own 3 laptops, an ipad, a Verizon Droid RAZR phone, a Bluetooth device, 2 digital cameras, multiple wireless gadgets, an XM/Sirius radio, a Wii (with multiple attachments), an mp3 player, and I’m certain I am forgetting something.  Plus, Becky and I recently purchased a 50” HDTV for our living room.

This is the hard part.  I have allowed the above items to play such an integral role in my daily life, I have left behind the most important components of what/who makes me who I am as a man, husband, father, friend, minister, son, etc.  Exodus 20:3 gives the commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.”  I admit I have struggled in the past with placing less important things before God…”things” like music (including praise and worship); but, that is a different topic/sermon for a later time.

But, what about the gifts God placed in my life?

What about my beautiful wife?  My helpmate? My confidant?  My best friend?  My love?  My bride?

What about my sons?  My three beautiful boys?

What about my parents?

My sister and brother-in-law?  My nieces?

My grandparents?

My friends?

Now, in addition to my obsession with technology, I love television.  I love REALITY television, even though I know not an ounce of it is reality.  A few of my favorite shows include Celebrity Apprentice, Big Brother, Real Housewives of Atlanta (don’t judge), The Voice, The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette.

As you may know, I began working with a telecommunications company in September of 2011.  My work schedule requires me to start my shift at 11am and I don’t get home until after 8:30pm.  The problem is that I love to have a seat on my comfortable couch the moment I walk through the door at night and get lost in this fake world of “reality”.  In all actuality, I lose touch with any sense of reality.  My wife has been home all day with children (not an adult in sight), and all she longs for is conversation with an adult.  My boys did not have male-influence in their life prior to coming into our custody, and all they want is just a hug or a kiss from their daddy.  Gracie, our dog, won’t even look my way anymore. 

I neglect all of my family’s needs for what?  A stupid girl crying over a rose?  A struggling singer not seeing a celebrity turn around in their chair?  A man with a rug on his head saying, “You’re fired”?  How stupid!!!

 
I have quite the dilemma and I know I am not the only man struggling with priorities.  I love technology.  I love television.  AND, I love my wife.  I love my family.
 

What if I had all the technology in the world and my DVR was full of my favorite shows?  Who cares?

 

What if I lost what really mattered most to me?  What if I gained the whole world, but lost my soul?  And, my family?

 

The truth is I would be lost.  I would be empty.  I live for my wife.  I live for my boys.  They are the reason I get out of bed in the morning.  They are the reason I work my crazy schedule.  I want to provide for them.  I want to feel their arms wrap around me.  I want to feel the touch of my wife’s lips on mine.  Yes, I even want Gracie to jump up on me and just about pee on herself when I walk through the door.

It would be selfish for me to choose a remote control, an ipad, a cell phone, or a prime time show over what matters most to me.

I have entered into a challenge.  Men, I invite you to join me.  I am starting the “POWER BUTTON CHALLENGE.”  Will you join me in pressing the power button to turn off the things that do not matter in order to invest in the things that do?  What we pour into our family today will manifest down the road.  Let’s deposit love, attention, a kind word, a hug, a kiss, discipline, prayer, and time into our future.  Maybe our marriages will improve.  Maybe our children will possess morals for the future.  Maybe they will be better fathers than we could ever dream???  Maybe, just maybe…