Whether in church or in the workplace, if you’re ‘the person in charge’, here is a question you need to seriously address: if you don’t love and take care of your own family, why should the people who look to you for direction think you will love and take care of them?

Does that question make you uncomfortable? Does it cause you to react by saying, ‘My personal life is nobody else’s business’? Well, that’s where you’re wrong! You lead by example. And while the people around you may not feel free to tell you what they think of you, that doesn’t keep them from thinking it or voicing it to others. In your quest for success, are you taking your family with you or are you leaving them behind? Are you giving them the time and attention they deserve, or are they routinely subjected to your frustrations at the end of a trying day? Are they more important to you than your career, your success, or your personal happiness? They should be. If you win every accolade and award available in the workplace and fail on the home front, what have you gained? Who will celebrate with you?

Psychologist William James said, ‘In every person there is a deep craving to be appreciated.’ And the shallow comments of fellow workers who praise your talent and accomplishments won’t meet that need. It can only be met in a home where acceptance, love, and encouragement bond each family member together. Your home should be your haven—the place where you find shelter from the storms of life. What are you doing to make it like that?