The family is the basic, smallest unit of society. It is undoubtedly of great importance. Yet in the world today, we see it being given the least importance and urgency as it is pitted in competition with careers, achievements, money, and comfort. Sad, but true.
This holds true for some Christians as well. In my place, there are some Christians who have become so engrossed in "serving the Lord" that they tend to neglect their families. Some youths have seen their relationships with their parents strained because they become so involved in youth ministry, or perhaps tend to enjoy the company of their Christian friends too much. While serving God and spending time in church is really good, putting ministry ahead of family is not right.
Your family is your first ministry
You should be your family's spiritual leader or servant before you do that to somebody else.
Have you ever noticed in the book of Acts that when a person gets saved, the next priority becomes that of bringing the gospel to the family? In Acts 10 we have the Roman Cornelius, who invited his family and relatives to hear God's message through Peter. In Acts 16 we have the jailer who believed God, along with his household.
Peter himself had this experience in Mark 1:29-31 when his mother-in-law was personally healed by the Lord Jesus. Even Jesus, despite prioritising God the Father above all, did not fail to take care of His earthly mother Mary and entrusted her to the "disciple that He loved" while He was already hanging on the cross (see John 19:26-27).
Maybe you're thinking that this is too much—but, no, it is not. In the Old Testament we have examples of men of God serving God by leading their families. One of them, Joshua, Moses' successor, said, "But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).
It is God's desire
You might be thinking that this goes against what Jesus said in Matthew 10 (parallel Luke 12): "Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. 'I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household! If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine."
Jesus spoke of this to make a clear distinction between those who will truly follow Him at all cost, and those who will just label themselves "Christian." Jesus didn't mean that we should fight with our families and leave them behind when we follow Him. He simply meant that nothing, not even family, should stand in the way of our relationship with Him.
At the same time, we must realise that He is the same God who said He will "turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers" (see Malachi 4:5). He wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), along with their households (see Acts 16:31).
