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Growing a PK was not easy...
Nobody seemed to understand that pastor's kids weren't perfect. This was especially true of the church congregation. Well, I've got a surprise for you: nobody's perfect! Only God is. PK's are just like anyone else's kids, except that we have the privilege of growing up in a Christian home where our parents' noble profession was to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, with their mind, heart, soul, and strength.
I will always be thankful to my parents for bringing me to the Lord. However, there were probably numerous times when I had wished that my parents had normal jobs like other kids' parents. I felt this way for several reasons.
First, pastors don't work normal hours. Pastors work weekends and weekday nights sometimes. My parents visited people in our congregation at nights. Obviously, people need pastors at all hours of the day. People don't just fall ill or pass away during the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, so whenever something happened to a member of the congregation, my parents had to drop everything to go see them, pray for them, etc. Sometimes this made me feel like I was less important than the members of the congregation. As much as that was not true, I still felt that way.
Secondly, other people had unrealistic expectations of how I was supposed to behave. I had to be better than anyone else’s kids to measure up. Just because I was a PK, people felt like they know what I should and shouldn't be doing and saying, and they felt free to criticize me whenever I did not fit their own image of a PK.
Thirdly, pastors don't make as much money as other professions. While I had my basic needs met and never really lacked anything, it was still obvious that we didn't have the big house, the nice cars, all the new toys, that many new clothes. When I was younger it didn't bother me at all. I was very happy despite that I might not have had as much as other kids. Sure, sometimes I wished that my dad made more money so we could have had more freedom monetarily. But looking back on it, I think it taught me invaluable lessons on being frugal, working hard for the things I want, and the value of a dollar. I think this was a good thing. Many children today get whatever they want, all the latest toys, games, clothes, electronics, etc. It's very hard for them to appreciate the hard work that goes into earning the money to buy things. The frugality of my childhood has made me a good manager of my own money.
There are a lot of external influences that would make us feel good or bad about being a PK. But one thing is for sure. If you follow the Lord with all your heart, and study His Word and understand the doctrines and theology, He will guide how you feel about yourself. You will have enough confidence in your relationship with the Lord to not let other people measure you against artificial yard sticks that you can't possibly measure up to. The Lord knows your heart, whether it's pure or in deceit. If you feel right with the Lord, the rest of the world will follow. And if they criticize you for something that you know does not go against the Bible's teachings, then both the PK and the parents should just ignore the criticisms. You can't correct something when nothing's wrong.
Lastly, take joy that your family serves the Lord. Our reward is in heaven, not on this earth. The Bible promises that our work is not in vain. Any sacrifices we've made in His name will be remembered in heaven. Remember that everything is small stuff as long as you keep a heavenly and eternal perspective. Members of the congregation may criticize you for something small or irrelevant, but don't let it bother you if you haven't done anything wrong in the Lord's eyes.
Even with some of the difficulties of growing up a PK, I am still very glad that my parents gave their lives to serve God. I understand the noble profession, and the eternal, everlasting impact it has on people's lives. God doesn't call everyone to be pastors, so my parents must be very special in God's eyes. Which means God must think I'm very special too. PK may not stand for "Perfect Kid", but in God's eyes we are perfect and blameless because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for us.
Growing a PK was not easy...
Nobody seemed to understand that pastor's kids weren't perfect. This was especially true of the church congregation. Well, I've got a surprise for you: nobody's perfect! Only God is. PK's are just like anyone else's kids, except that we have the privilege of growing up in a Christian home where our parents' noble profession was to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, with their mind, heart, soul, and strength.
I will always be thankful to my parents for bringing me to the Lord. However, there were probably numerous times when I had wished that my parents had normal jobs like other kids' parents. I felt this way for several reasons.
First, pastors don't work normal hours. Pastors work weekends and weekday nights sometimes. My parents visited people in our congregation at nights. Obviously, people need pastors at all hours of the day. People don't just fall ill or pass away during the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, so whenever something happened to a member of the congregation, my parents had to drop everything to go see them, pray for them, etc. Sometimes this made me feel like I was less important than the members of the congregation. As much as that was not true, I still felt that way.
Secondly, other people had unrealistic expectations of how I was supposed to behave. I had to be better than anyone else’s kids to measure up. Just because I was a PK, people felt like they know what I should and shouldn't be doing and saying, and they felt free to criticize me whenever I did not fit their own image of a PK.
Thirdly, pastors don't make as much money as other professions. While I had my basic needs met and never really lacked anything, it was still obvious that we didn't have the big house, the nice cars, all the new toys, that many new clothes. When I was younger it didn't bother me at all. I was very happy despite that I might not have had as much as other kids. Sure, sometimes I wished that my dad made more money so we could have had more freedom monetarily. But looking back on it, I think it taught me invaluable lessons on being frugal, working hard for the things I want, and the value of a dollar. I think this was a good thing. Many children today get whatever they want, all the latest toys, games, clothes, electronics, etc. It's very hard for them to appreciate the hard work that goes into earning the money to buy things. The frugality of my childhood has made me a good manager of my own money.
There are a lot of external influences that would make us feel good or bad about being a PK. But one thing is for sure. If you follow the Lord with all your heart, and study His Word and understand the doctrines and theology, He will guide how you feel about yourself. You will have enough confidence in your relationship with the Lord to not let other people measure you against artificial yard sticks that you can't possibly measure up to. The Lord knows your heart, whether it's pure or in deceit. If you feel right with the Lord, the rest of the world will follow. And if they criticize you for something that you know does not go against the Bible's teachings, then both the PK and the parents should just ignore the criticisms. You can't correct something when nothing's wrong.
Lastly, take joy that your family serves the Lord. Our reward is in heaven, not on this earth. The Bible promises that our work is not in vain. Any sacrifices we've made in His name will be remembered in heaven. Remember that everything is small stuff as long as you keep a heavenly and eternal perspective. Members of the congregation may criticize you for something small or irrelevant, but don't let it bother you if you haven't done anything wrong in the Lord's eyes.
Even with some of the difficulties of growing up a PK, I am still very glad that my parents gave their lives to serve God. I understand the noble profession, and the eternal, everlasting impact it has on people's lives. God doesn't call everyone to be pastors, so my parents must be very special in God's eyes. Which means God must think I'm very special too. PK may not stand for "Perfect Kid", but in God's eyes we are perfect and blameless because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for us.
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