My spouse is more important than my job.

It’s not good enough to say it, I must show it.

I must visibly demonstrate the order of priorities in my life, specifically the supremacy of my marriage over my career.

Everyone says their spouse is more important than their work, but far too few show it.

Describe a way in which you regularly demonstrate the priority of your spouse over work.

• When does communication with your wife trump your cell phone?
• In what ways does your husband take precedence over a client?
• How often does your spouse know he/she is being chosen over a co-worker?

I hope in the years to come that people will look back on the life of our church and say, “it was good, but it could have been a little bit better if the staff would have spent less time with their families and more time at the church.” I don’t want the church to suffer, but I do want it to be a bit less than what it could have been because as a church staff we have placed our families before the church.

If this is true in the world of a pastor, how much more true should it be in every other profession.

It’s easy as a pastor to justify putting my job above my family. My job is not a job; it’s people’s lives. It’s the mending of broken marriages. It’s the life transforming spiritual conversation. It’s someone on their death bed or facing their greatest grief.

Not every conversation is serious, but many are. There are times in which my wife has to take a backseat.

However, if she always takes a backseat, she will know where she ranks. She was not created to always be in the backseat. She was created to walk beside me in life.

As I was with her.

As the husband to a working wife, it’s vitally important for my wife to regularly show me that I come before work.

There are times in which I have to take a backseat. A deadline is near; a client is demanding; an emergency must be dealt with. However, if these situations are the rule and not the exception, I will know where I rank.

As a working couple, we must show each other that we come before it.

It’s true for us and it’s true for you.

Here are some ways to show your spouse they come first:

Eat one meal a day together and do not allow cell phones at the table.

Pick a priority and stick with it. (For me, this is bedtime. I might get home right at bedtime and have to leave right after it, but I will only miss my kids bedtime a few times a year. Not only does this tell my kids they are important, because our kids still demand parental attention to go to sleep, this shows my wife that she comes first.)

Regularly take a day off.

Take an annual vacation together.

Negotiate your work schedule with your spouse. (More than just a pretend negotiation, actually allow them to influence when you do and don’t work.)

Occasionally miss important work events to be with your family.

Never make an expectation out of what a spouse offers as a service. (i.e. Thank her for dinner, don’t expect dinner. Thank him for paying the bills, don’t expect him to pay them.)

Never communicate one spouse’s job is more important than the other.

When busy seasons come at work, clearly identify the start and end of the season, communicate it to your spouse and stay true to your word. (Make sure “this will be a busy week” doesn’t become a busy three weeks.)

Regularly review and repent. (No one gets this right all the time. You must regularly re-evaluate and apologize for getting it wrong.)

What is a way your spouse SHOWS that you are more important than work?