Keeping them safe

So, I confess, I am obsessive compulsive. Last night, I sat down to read for twenty minutes and two and a half hours later, I finished the book and went to bed. The book was a children's historical fiction work that wasn't exceptionally well written, but it added some interesting detail to the time of the Judges in the Old Testament. Since I have just finished reading that portion of the Bible with my children, the stories are fresh in my mind. Really thought it was the repeated warnings issued in Scripture that echoed in my mind as I thought about the story this afternoon. God told Israel over and over again that they would be safe and prosper in the land if they obeyed and served only Him. Over and over again they forgot God and their promises to obey Him. The cycle of Israel's disobedience, punishment, repentance, and deliverance repeats all through the Old Testament. God warned and proved repeatedly that He would protect His people if they obeyed. In the story, the Israelite women were often captured and sold as slaves during a period of Israel's disobedience. The fathers were unable to protect their families because of their disobedience to God. It struck me that when I disobey, I am leaving my family open to the attacks of Satan. It is not just myself that is in peril. I am sacrificing my children when I seek my own way. I am putting myself in a position that makes it impossible to protect them. Is anything that I desire worth the souls of my children? Is there any sin that I wouldn't rather confess than see my children pay the price? I might say that there isn't, but do my actions line up with my words? Am I living an obedient life? One that will bring blessing to my family? Or am I living for self? Galatians 6: 7-9 were the verses that we read in family devotions tonight. Am I sowing to the flesh or to the Spirit? My reward is sure. I need to work for a harvest of righteousness.