August 4, 2024
Labor and Legacy
Psalm 127:1-5
Is it worth it? Am I pursuing the correct things in my life? These are the questions that seemed to plague King Solomon, especially near the end of his life. It was these questions that he struggled with when writing the book of Ecclesiastes as he explored if it was worth pursuing pleasure, work, power, wealth, relationships, and even wisdom in his life. His answer to all those questions was “no, it’s not worth it”. This shouldn’t be our motivation in life at all. He said that seeking after all those things is ultimately and eternally meaningless. There was only one thing that wasn’t meaningless and that was fearing God and being obedient to Him. It’s seemingly this same mindset that he approaches the writing of the 127th Psalm, instead of looking at an overarching theme of primary motivations in life itself, he is focusing on the home. and in this focus, he is exploring the same questions ― is what I’m pursuing worth it? Do I have the correct motivations in my home? There are many things that can motivate us to work hard for the different facets that make up the “home” that Solomon is speaking of here ― our marriage, our jobs, and our children just to name a few. These motivating factors can be wonderful things as well as not so great things. No matter what our motivation is and how genuine we are about it, if we don’t have the right one, ultimately all our efforts will be wasted. Therefore this morning, I want to look at the 127th Psalm to see the effort that will pay off in eternity when it comes to our homes and children. I want to share some practical things we can do to make sure we aren’t just chasing the wind when it comes to these things in our homes, and what the payoff will be if we invest the required effort in our homes.
The Effort Required in our Home - Psalms 127:1-2
Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
Throughout their history, the children of Israel and their leaders have done things with the wrong motivation, and it always wound up with disastrous results. From Moses striking a rock instead of speaking to it in Exodus 17, to King Saul's disobedience many times over during his reign. Even Solomon’s own father, who thought he could deal with his sin however he wanted, caused consequences that rippled through his family and the kingdom for generations. All their motivations were the same and were those that were shared by the people of Israel all throughout the book of Judges, “they all did what was right in their own eyes”. Those moments and the consequences that came from them had to be in King Solomon’s mind when it came to these first two verses. There he wrote about building our home, protection over our home, and the work to maintain our home. When we try to do these things our way, we will ultimately end up with disastrous results eternally speaking. Solomon’s answer is simple ― without the Lord guiding it, it’s all pointless, wasted, useless. How exactly can we make sure that it’s the Lord building our house, protecting our house, and making sure our work is done correctly?
When Solomon speaks of the house here, he is speaking of the family. The Biblical foundation of the family is marriage. Biblical marriage is a very interesting thing. It’s one of the few things that God institutes here on earth (the church being one other major one). God is very specific on how it’s supposed to look. Listen to what Jesus said in Mark 10:6-9, “But God made them male and female from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.” Marriage gives the example of the relationship between Jesus and the church. Because of that Satan hates it and will do anything he can to destroy Biblical marriage. To distort the view we are to have of marriage and in turn Jesus’ relationship to the church. That is why it is so important to make sure we are not seeking our own ways in building and maintaining our marriages but rather seeking God’s way because Satan will stop at nothing to destroy yours. The only one has already defeated Satan and that is our Lord, Jesus Christ, so we need to listen to Him. We understand that the Lord needs to build and keep our house, but what can we do right now when it comes to making sure Jesus is the one building and protecting our homes? Here are a few practical Biblical things that we must do.
1. Seek Jesus Together
In youth and college ministry, you are often asked “How will I know who I should marry?” My answer is always; start by running after God with all you have and then look around and see who is keeping up. That shouldn’t stop once you get married. You are to fervently seek God not only as individuals, but as a couple (this is why the command to not be unequally yoked is so important). Jesus Himself said “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” This is the first step in Jesus building your home, is making sure Jesus is the foundation of everything in that home, starting with your marriage. This includes prayer, Bible reading and Bible study, Bible discussion, accountability ― that list goes on and on.
2. Watch Your Words
Paul tells the church in Ephesus, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” Paul gives this command while speaking of unity in the body of believers, but it’s also true for the unity of a man and woman in marriage. Watch your words and remember whoever said, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was lying.
3. Be Faithful to Each Other
Unfaithfulness can look like many more things than just physical unfaithfulness. Make sure you are emotionally and electronically faithful to each other as well by setting boundaries ― accountability and fleeing from any temptations to do otherwise. “What God has joined together let “no one” separate” that no one could be you.
4. Be Understanding
Peter said “in the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together.” You and your spouse might be one, but you are both wired differently and might butt heads from time to time. Make sure you communicate well, honor each other always, and try to understand where the other is coming from. Don’t get so stuck in pride that you adopt a “my way or the highway” mantra in your marriage, it’s not an attitude God ever called for in a marriage.
5. Be Humble, Gentle, and Patient
This is almost a continuation of the previous point. This is a command for the church, and it flows into marriages as well. It was recorded in Ephesians when Paul wrote “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.” Keep an attitude of humility and gentleness with your spouse in everything you do. Remember you're not the only one that must make allowances for the others' faults. They are returning the favor.
Marriage is the foundation of the family and the home and must be protected in God's way. That way requires a lot of hard work. It will probably be the hardest thing you will ever do. These five things are just a few of the things God calls for married couples to do, but there is something else that Solomon mentions here that we need to talk about briefly. It’s the fact that when we do it God’s way, we are going to be fighting against the enemy constantly. We will get tired while carrying out God's work in our marriages, but we can never let ourselves get tired of God’s work in our marriages. When we try to make the Lord the builder of our house from the foundation of marriage up, we cannot give up. Knowing that He will give us rest in the battle when we need it.
The Effort Required for our Children - Psalms 127:3-4
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.
Solomon moves on from the foundational building of the house that must be in our Lord to the children born in that marriage relationship. The first verse is a great reminder that we must remind ourselves sometimes as parents that our children are a reward and a gift from God. Remember Solomon is speaking of making sure we are building things around our Lord. When we look at these verses considering that we see some very interesting things, especially in verse 4. In verse 4 we see how we can raise children built on the foundation of a God-centered marriage. The first thing I want you to notice is the fact that a bow and arrow is used in the illustration Solomon uses and archery requires a lot of hard work. It is said that to become good, very good at archery, it will require at least 6 days a week and 3 hours a day to do so. When Solomon talks about children and raising them, we must know just like marriage this too will be hard work. Notice also that your arrows are not going to all be the same. This was in a time before machines made arrows. Therefore each arrow was hand hewn and would all be a little different, even if they came from the same fletcher. A skilled warrior would have to know the arrow intimately before he would pull it back and fire it, to make sure that arrow makes the most of its flight path to the target, which is Christ. The last thing is that once you let the arrow go, you are no longer in direct control of its trajectory. It is up to the arrow at that point even though you can still have an influence. So how can we make sure these arrows are aimed with skill and in obedience to God’s word?
1. Lead your Children in Discipleship
Don’t just model the Christian life with your children. Take the time to show them how to Read God’s Word, Live God’s Word, and Share God’s Word. Do so with patience and humility and look for the things God will use your children to teach you. Seek God first in your lives and teach them to do the same.
2. Discipline your Children
In Proverbs 29 we are told if we discipline and reprove our children, we are leading them to wisdom. If we let them do whatever they want, they will be the shame of their parents and cause turmoil in their hearts. Your children need discipline and correction just like you do from our Father. Satan is doing everything he can to pull your children away from Jesus. In those times your child doesn’t need another friend in you, they need a parent who will lovingly correct them just like God does with us (Hebrew 12:6).
3. Help them find their gifts and talents
Proverbs 22:6 says to “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This means more than just instructing them in God’s Word. It means knowing and helping them see how God has made and wired them to understand how they can use those skills, talents, and gifts for the glory of God. Do so when they are young so they will not be frustrated when they get older still trying to figure out how God can use them.
4. Pray for your Children
There is power in prayer, God wants to hear from you. Pray for them no matter how old they are and pray for their spouse (or future spouse). Pray for their faith, pray for their walk, pray for their temptations, pray for their opportunities, pray for them to glorify God in all that they do. Never stop praying for your children.
5. Remember Kids aren’t perfect
Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God ― this means your kids too. Don’t forget they are not going to be perfect; they are going to make mistakes; they are going to stumble. The important part is to walk them through those times Biblically and help them learn from those broken moments.
Raising kids is hard. Raising kids God's way is even harder. Not only do you have to deal with them, but there is an enemy that is seeking to devour them that you must deal with as well. Will we be perfect parents all the time? No, but we have a perfect Savior we can trust who is in control of even the most hard-headed children if we do things His way.
The Reward for the Hard Work - Psalms 127:5
How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.
Solomon finishes off this Psalm by speaking of the legacy that will be left when the hard work of having a Christ-centered marriage and Christ-centered parenting style pays off. He speaks of not being put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates, but what does that mean? Well in his day, when you were a parent and you had enough kids and you had raised them right, they would be equipped properly to go and take care of any enemies that might come to the gates. That was the benefit of all the hard work. When it comes to us, we can ask “Is it worth it?” Was all the effort to manage our families God’s way worth it? The answer will be 100% yes, because you have children who will go and be leaders the way Jesus calls them to when they get older. Times are getting worse and will continue to do so. People will stop listening to sound teachings just as Scripture says. When we commit to Christ centered marriages and Christ-centered parenting, we are raising up a generation who will hold onto the Word of God and proclaim it no matter the climate. The reward is that God will be glorified, and the Gospel will be proclaimed. That’s the point of a follower of Jesus’ life anyways.
This Psalm reflects the promise that God made to Solomon's father, King David that was recorded in 2 Samuel 7. This is where David wanted a “house”, but God promised more than that. He promised him a legacy that would culminate in the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is the same with us. Are we trying to build our home in ways to obtain wealth, power, prestige? or just because of pride? God has something better in store for us when we build it His way. He promises us a legacy when we build everything in our homes around Him. So when we ask, is it worth it? We can say without a doubt ― YES, IT IS!
