Mind Your Own Business

I have been job sharing with one of my co-workers for many years now. When I started working at the jail, my child was only 5 years old then. He’s 14 now. You would think that I would go back working full time. But I truly enjoy my time raising my son and taking care of my hubby’s and child’s needs. In their teenage years, I believe that’s the most important time of guidance and sharing the Lord with them at these awkward years. They feel like they are grown-ups, yet, they still have not completely left their childhood years. They are still dependent with some things.


It’s amazing to me how co-workers are constantly teasing me about adding more work hours or making comments that my son now is big, why be there [for him]? I try to tell them answers that are not mean but let’s just say in a much better way than saying “it’s none of your business…”


Working this weekend, one really got to me when she spoke, “Why? Why do you bring your kid to school? He’s big now. Maybe he doesn’t want you to be there. He just doesn’t want to tell you because he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings?”

My first reaction in my mind? Prayer….”Lord, thank You for changing me. If You didn’t change my heart, I would have responded in a mean way to make this person zip her mouth…”


My answer? “I think I know MY son well enough that I will know whether he likes me to drive him to school or pick him up or not!”


S…I…L…E…N…C…E…..


She went back to typing whatever in front of the computer monitor. Topics suddenly changed…


I love the wisdom that comes from the Lord. Short but very sharp. So sharp that even one sentence was enough to make your point!!!


I would love to ask that co-worker some of my own but decided not to….I had so much if I did…

“Does working a lot of hours improve our relationships with our children?”

We may earn a lot of money, but is it all worth it than the times well-spent talking with our children, seeing their accomplishments, being there for them when they encounter their own defeats and losses as our kids meet new challenges in their lives?

“What makes you think that my child doesn’t want me to drop him off and pick him up at school?”

Everyday, I won’t trade with anything our breakfasts together, preparing his lunch and snacks, our devotions together, lifting up everyone we know in prayers. The way he says, “thank You Lord! Thank you Mom! [or thank you dad if my husband is home] as his warm kisses land on our cheeks along with his hugs, after eating each meals….

Oh no! I won’t miss it for anything the way he waves his right arm “goodbye” as he says, “I love you mommy! See you later!” How can I want to miss picking him up when the first thing my child asks as he gets into the car, “Hi Mom! How are you? How was your day?” To know that deep inside, he loves and cares for me and he appreciates the things I do, how does my co-worker know that?

“He’s big now..Yes, I know…But what makes you think that just because he had grown up a little and had known a little, he became a disrespectful half-man/half-child?”

No! You must know that if we keep teaching our children about the Lord, that if we instill His grace and knowledge, He changes our children‘s hearts, too, the way He changed mine and that of my husband‘s. Just this morning, I shared with him Galatians 5:22. Aside from starting each morning with Proverbs 3:5,6. The world or generation may seem the same, always hungry for what this world offers or are always thinking about themselves first, but the generation that believes in Christ do not always go with the flow. Instilling in our children to have that reverential fear of the Lord changes their hearts and as they also learn to trust in Him and read his Word, I just know, I do not need to worry about my child, if I place my worries to God's loving hands, to God's guidance, to God's protection...Don't get me wrong! I'm not trying to say that Christians are the best. No! We can also succumb to our old habits if we are not relying on Christ. It doesn't mean our children are well-behaved...It is only Christ Who can change a person's heart. And if we expose our children to His love and grace, that's what works, not our own achievements.

“Train your child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” -Proverbs 22:6 [NIV]

My response to my co-worker’s statement: Nothing….But to mind my own business…I have nothing against working full time. It is because it depends on our financial status and life’s priorities. My only point is that we cannot apply what situations we are facing with others. I think every family is unique, just the way each of us is unique to God. I have no one to thank but God because as I had learned to walk closer with Him, He changed my heart. He changed my priorities. I learned to live in contentment. I learned to prioritize of what matters the most…I learned to live in simple ways. It’s an on-going learning process…And how I love the simplicity that comes from Jesus Christ!

Let me just put God’s advice [1 Thessalonians 4:11]:

“Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You’ve heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends.” - The Message

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” - NIV

“Try your best to live quietly, to mind your own business, and to work hard, just as we taught you to do. Then you will be respected by people who are not followers of the Lord , and you won’t have to depend on anyone.” -CEV