I mentioned in Sunday’s sermon that Peter’s words for elders potentially can be applied to various spheres of leadership and responsibility. Maggie and I discussed this on Sunday, and naturally applied Peter’s words to the realm of parenting. Specifically, she had verse 2 in mind; “not for shameful gain, but eagerly.” Another way of saying this is that we lead with eagerness for the good of the other person, and not for our own selfish motives. When you apply that to parenting, it is easy to become convicted. How many times do we make rules or enforce commands or ask our kids to act in a certain way, and do so for strictly selfish reasons. Very often, we parent our kids not thinking of their benefit, but our own. If I consider my motives honestly, very often I want my kids to behave and do things well simply because it’s easier for me! That’s a self-centered heart at work. I want my kids to eat quickly because I want dinner to be over so I can sit down, so I impatiently push them along. I want my kids to be quiet because I don’t want others to look at me, so I frustratedly hush them. And so on and so on. If I was parenting not for my gain, but eagerly, I would have at the forefront of my mind what is best for them. That does not mean I would not correct them. But it would mean I would correct them with grace and true teaching and instruction (and not provoking them to anger, to borrow Paul’s words in Ephesians 6). When I am seeking their good more than my own, I am less concerned with how their behavior impacts me, and more concerned with how I can train and educate them for their success and spiritual maturity. With that priority in mind, my parenting would have a lot less anger, and a lot more patient guidance. That is just one way Peter’s words for shepherds might apply to leadership in parenting. I wonder how his words might apply to your spheres of responsibility.