Sinabi mo pa. Hindi nga tlaga biro ang maging anak ng pastor. Alagad ng Dios at ng simbahan ang ama/ina mo. Lahat ng mata ng miyembro ng simbahan nakatingin sayo. Pag dami mo achievements may napapahanga, meron ding iba sasabihing, ‘anak kasi ng pastor kaya magaling.’ Pag may mali ka ika’y pinag-uusapan na, sasabihin na ‘anak siya ng pastor, bakit ganon ang ginawa niya? Dapat alam niya ano ang tama at ano ang mali.” Tama ba naman yon? Ikaw yata ginagawa nilang center of attraction? O center of ----?
I didn't post this to raise an issue. I’d like to give two thumbs up to my fellow Ministers’ Kids/Pastors’ Kids all over the world. I may not have met each one of you but I believe we share the same kind of sentiments of why we were being treated differently yet very grateful that we are the instruments used by our God to help our parents in ministering unto others.
I am the first-born of a pastor-teacher couple. My mother had given up her teaching profession to be at full-support to his husband, my father, who at that time was being destined from one place to another to pioneer churches. Before I turned two, my father was then set to host the Mother Church of the whole wide-Bukidnon Assembly of God at Kalilangan. The said place is also my mother’s home town so we didn't have a hard time adjusting with the environment and with the people because we were almost all blood-related. Together with my parents & my two younger brothers; we settled, matured & grew up within the portal of the church. I didn't feel obliged but I've been mandated to be always at hand whenever there were activities and events. It’s as if my presence was a must when church affairs were being presented. I was expected to be the leader of those within my age bracket; I was also the one representing my batch and even the juniors and that I must be mindful and always alert of the good conducts of those who were leading ahead of me for me to follow. Well, I guess, and also believe, it was my ‘function’.
Being a pastor’s kid is my privilege, I’d say. I am very privileged to be a part of the continuous works of the Lord Almighty who uses people like my parents & my family to spread His word & to lead His herds. I remember I’ve had always stuck in my head that not all kids have the chance to be called and tagged a ‘PK’ or an ‘MK’. A few were chosen. And, it’s not that easy as some people think it is. Many years ago I read a card given to my father from a visiting Bible student in our church. There was her line saying, “…I pray that God will strengthen your kids as they grow up especially that all eyes were preying on pastors’ kids like us. It’ll be hard at times.” The letter-sender is a pastor's kid too.
Some people think ministers’ kids must come to perfection. That mistakes must be minimal. Or should I say, there should be no mistakes. These people can’t be blamed for they look to the first family of the church as examples, models and next to God. I would like to say that pastors’ kids are not exempted from the Earth’s revolving around the sun. We are like some kids over the streets and kids strolling in the park. We eat same foods as other kids have on their tables; we dress like other kids to go to school and to attend Sunday schools. We ain’t that ‘somebody’ because we are all of the same kind. Yes, we are expected to behave in such a manner that we are cloned to, but to judge us all the way because of our personal faults, I think is irrational and unfair.
On different matters, pastors’ kids are not (all) born rich. My family’s finds all started with my father’s church honorarium, love gifts & offerings and those which were handed to us personally by church members who have seen our needs. Not all churches could give their pastors a wealthy life to live with. It’s a general knowledge that ministers and pastors live within the means of the church and its members. My father was & is doing sidelines (farming, selling, sewing and etc.) to cover up our finances in able to send me and my brothers to school. His honorarium alone would just be solely enough for food on our table. It really grips my heart whenever we have pastors with families visiting us who seldom see better food and clothes inside their homes. Their kids are being forced to work instead of having education because their parents can’t afford to pay for it. Ang iba napapariwara kasi hindi matugunan ng mga magulang nila ang mga demand at gusto nila sa buhay (which I believe is not a valid reason at all para magkaganon sila). When I see a pastor’s daughter having the same body size like mine or smaller, the next thing I’d do is to open my closet and choose among my clothes and shoes which ones I'm willing and glad to give. It still crumples my inner self when I see smiles appearing on the faces of these less fortunate pastors and their families upon receiving help and assistance from people who feel for them. Yes, prayer is the best gift we can give to a person for that person to be blessed. But, let’s be honest with ourselves, without money and material things – one CANNOT survive in this kind of world. Our physical body is God’s temple; it is the dwelling of our soul. Let’s not allow Satan (poverty) to diminish what was being given to us to take care of.
BODY and SOUL should be given priority, it applies to everyone. All pastors’ kids are STILL human. None of them is GOD. Let’s not pinpoint. Every PK or MK has her/his own life. He or she is also prone to stumble while running & walking for life and for God.
1 comment:
I agree!
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