A contract could work with you as a young person, too. Especially if you fear your parents will try to frustrate your attempt at being a spiritual leader. But, since you are not a parent, there is bound to be a lot more to dealing with things.
Before we get to that, though, let’s look at how to approach the fact you plan to be the spiritual leader in the first place. Because, you can’t just say “I’m a leader.” A good leader is a shepherd. And, sheep need to know why they should follow one shepherd and not another one. Because it could be a strain on you to approach those you love about it, beside prayer it would be wise to have a trusted Christian adult help.
We see in our passage in 2 Kings 4 that the Shunammite women honored her husband. We’ll look at this more when we talk about overcoming obstacles. However, the author uses what’s called an ellipsis. Unimportant details are left out. Just as your favorite book or TV program doesn’t show every moment of peoples’ lives, God doesn’t show us every interaction between this woman and her husband.
We do know this, though. At some point, she told him she worshipped and would serve the living God; the God of her fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And, she chose to place God ahead of her husband in her life, while still honoring him. To place her husband ahead of God would be to turn him into an idol. An idol isn’t just a false god. It’s anything you put ahead of God.
You need to have the attitude of the Shunammite woman when it comes to those in authority over you. You still need to honor them, and also be willing to let those in authority take the spiritual lead when they are able and willing.
A good missionary church planter disciples converts so one day, one of them can take over, and he can go on to plant another church somewhere else. He works himself out of a job. In the same way, you should seek, if possible, to “work yourself out of a job” by discipling your parents, if they are willing. That’s part of being humble.
That’s getting a little ahead of ourselves. Right now, let’s look at how to tell them what the Shunammite woman told her husband at some point.
