Humility

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.

This scripture was from my Bible study this morning. It hit me that I must not be modeling humility and regarding others as more important than myself very well. My 2 boys who are still home are fighting, a lot. There isn't a day that goes by that they don't fight. This is a big stressor for me and I have failed to find a way to help them learn how to not to take offense easily and to not expect their way is the only way. When I send them out to do a job together the fighting is almost immediate centering around who has the best way of doing it. This is not regarding each other as more important than themselves! When I see a character flaw in my children I assume that the fault lies with me. They are with me practically 24/7, therefore they are learning how to conduct themselves from watching my conduct. Where have I failed to show a servants heart toward my family? The Lord has been dealing with me for the last year or so on being a more submissive wife, and that overflows into how I relate with our children, so I don't think that this is recently learned behavior. When DH and I were first married and for several years afterward I did not show a servants heart toward my DH or my children. I was a spoiled brat and was constantly fighting to have my way. I am afraid that I am now reaping what I sowed back then. :( That is a tough realization to come to. It is my prayer for you dear reader that you carefully consider your actions before you do anything because what you sow, you will reap. It can either be good or it can be bad and it doesn't always show up right away. DH and I have been married for 19 years. I wasted a lot of time and energy the first few years trying to get my way all the time, no one was happy. Around our 5th yr, God told me to shut up and quit nagging and fighting through Proverbs (I can't remember the exact scripture). Basically it told a man it was better to live on the corner of his roof than with a nagging wife. I understood then the damage that I was doing to my marriage but did not understand that what it was doing and teaching my children. They were very young, but they remember that dark time. Apparently they also learned some bad concepts also. Now it will take time and a lot of prayer for them to break free from what their mother unknowingly taught them.
Please do not think that I am beating myself up for this. I am not. Christ has forgiven me for this and will guide DH, me and the boys through this. My hope is in Christ, not myself. I have just came to this realization as I wrote this afternoon and hope and pray that it may help someone-else.
God Bless you,
His girl