S. O. A. P.
Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional!
S-cripture:
1 Chronicles 18:17b
And David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s side.
O-bservation:
In the Old Testament Jewish tradition, sons were connected to their fathers in ministry, in tribal leadership, in business, and even government leadership. We are told that David’s sons, though not mentioned in this passage, were chief officials at the king’s side.
A-pplication:
I know that the king’s offspring (i.e., Absalom) hurt the family’s reputation in some cases. Yet Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob built a nation from their descendants. In the New Testament, the gospel and many parts of Jewish culture broke out beyond the Jewish nation and into the world of the Gentiles. For the most part, Gentile people had not built a legacy by bringing their children into business or ministry with them. The practice became more common with the spread of the Church. When the Catholic popes came to power in the Middle Ages, and as late as the 17th century, they gave top government jobs to nephews and other relatives as they could have no children of their own. This practice became known as Nepotism, and the term comes from a Latin word meaning nephew. Because of misuses of power, the word nepotism is often despised in business and almost every field, yet this is no reason to run from the Jewish way of doing business. I’ve seen many businesses and ministries flourish because they were staffed with family members who worked hard to achieve success. Just because you are accused of nepotism doesn’t mean you should choose any other way. I think the Jews have had a pretty good run of success. I’ll take the “Jewish Over Gentile” way of doing business any day.
P-rayer:
Dear Jesus,
I come to you this AM to give You thanks for all the wonderful employees You’ve brought our way during our 48 years of ministry. I admit I’ve hired a son or two through the years and nephews and nieces too. But they all had to toe the line. And You helped make that happen, Jesus. Thank you! Amen
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