I write about what matters...to you---
women, wives and moms---
about your family, faith and future.
I write about what's hard, what helps and what heals.
I show you how it's done. And not done.
I hold your hand as you find what matters to the Savior.
And let go of those things that mattered to you, but not to Him.
I write about what matters...to Him.
               Sonya Contreras

Are You Essential?

The state governments and its media have chosen carefully the terms they use.
We have heard that only the “essential” work places will be allowed to continue.
Essential as defined as “absolutely necessary; extremely important.”
What has the government defined as essential?
In Fresno, Sportsman’s Warehouse was forced to shut their doors. (They sell guns.) There was such an outcry that city officials relented because they “sell water and camping food.”
Pets Mart remains open. They sell pet food.
In California, some PG&E employees are not essential. (They monitor regulations set by the government for fire prevention.) They may not be essential now, but come fire season, won’t they be needed? 
One man said that he can no longer go to his barber. He considered his barber essential. He expressed how his barber has only two clients in his small store at a time. This man works 51 weeks out of the year and depends on that job to take his one week off to go fishing. He was concerned about what that man would do for groceries.

Most business are deemed non-essential. That makes many jobs unessential.
What happens when your job is not essential?
You are not needed. You are dismissed.
This creates a chain reaction that reaches beyond just minimizing the spread of a flu.
Men feel their worth by what they do.
In my article Made to Work, I told how God made man to work. That is all men.
When what they do is labeled “non-essential”, they suffer — not just financially.
Home improvement places like Lowes and Home Depot are thriving—and hiring. Because people must still feel worth. 
Men must work. They may not be earning a paycheck but they will do something. That “honey-do list” is looking better all the time.

This selective “essential job" pits people against each other.
We no longer seek to help each other.
Instead we report offenders who are not obeying.
That's what Hitler did to divide the people.
No one can trust anyone, not even family members.

Why are you essential and I am not?
And who decides whether you are essential or not?
Is it for the government to decide?
Because people don’t have “common sense”, people justify the government’s involvement.
Our country’s democracy depends on the responsibility of its people.
By demanding government (who insists on removing morals and discipline from the school) to enforce “responsibility”, we create a monster with no moral standards to control it.

This "essential job" mentality creates a domino effect that is far reaching.
Farmers dumped their milk because stores limit purchases. 
Other farmers tilled under their vegetable fields. Why harvest, if there are no school lunches and restaurants to buy them?
There isn’t a shortage of product.
Even the “essential” jobs depend on those “non-essential” people to buy their product. 
These links demonstrate that ALL Jobs are essential.
America needs that little taco truck. And the trash truck. And the barber. And--- you name it. 
The backbone of America runs on those family businesses that provide a service for someone’s needs.
Doesn’t any working father provide an essential service to his family to provide for their needs?

When the government determines your worth or what we should value, we, the people, are in trouble. 
The people should determine the government’s worth. 
We should not look to the government for our answers. (Even controlling a virus.) They are merely servants to facilitate what we must do.

Where do we find our worth?
Last year in the series about worldview, specifically Are You an Image Bearer or Just a Wad of Cells?,  I told of man’s inherent worth, given by God.
All men have worth, regardless of what they do, because God made them. 

Last week’s article, Are You a Failure?, reflects how men feel when they are unemployed—especially as state governments continue to hinder them from providing for their families. Helpless? You bet. Worthless? Yup.

What’s the answer?
As the state governments prolong the quarantine, they show contempt for the fathers who are not working now.
Who pays those unemployment checks? 
Those "essential workers" who felt lucky to have a job. Taxes rise.
Who also pays? Those who do not work.
These workers become servants to the government, degrading their worth.
The government is not the answer.

God is waiting for us to seek Him.
Ask Him what you should do.
Pray not just for the flu to be over and life to continue as before, but pray for the values and standards of God to be remembered and respected again—in families, in government, in churches.
Pray for all families: those families with no income, those who pay the greater tax load. The family's strength determines the stability of a culture.
Pray for our government to acknowledge God.
Pray for repentance and revival in all our hearts.

Then obey what God tells you to do.
Maybe it's sending a card to encourage someone.
Maybe it's baking a meal for a neighbor.
Listen to what God tells you.

What difference will prayer make?
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5:16.

What can one man do?
Wilberforce stood alone in the English Parliament against slavery.
Lincoln prayed alone for uniting the States.
David Livingston explored Africa alone to find ship routes to destroy the slave trade.
Daniel slept, alone but not really, in the den of lions, because he continued to pray.
Jeremiah remained alone after all his fellowmen were bound and taken into slavery.
Nehemiah alone encouraged the men to build the broken wall.
See Alone, But Not Forsaken, an example of Samson who judged alone.
God calls us to stand alone and pray.

Were these men essential?
All they did was pray, wait for an answer, then obey God.
What did they have in common?
A God Who answers prayers and rewards obedience.
Are you essential?
Ask God—Who sent His only Son to die for you.
And now waits for you to obey Him.

Motherhood
Find other articles about motherhood
here:
The Battle for Our Children
​Dear Master of Hands
Close to Home
Reflections from a Mom
Just the Mother-In-Law
A Mom Who Knew Her Job
Letting Go of my Fourth Son
Making a House a Home
How Do I Pray?
Picking up Acorns
Changed by God
Last Times
Are You a Failure?
What To Do Now?
Are You Tired of the Same Old Thing?
What's in a Book, Anyway?
Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence
Confessions of a Desperate Mom
You Are Not Alone
A Wedding Remembered
Sunday Morning Excuses—Is It Worth It?
Stages of Parental Control
Homeschooling Myths Debunked
Seasons
Do You Know the Word?
Wake Up! Strengthen What Remains
Is Jezebel in Your Midst?
Are You Tired of Being a Mom?
A Day in a Mom's Life
What Talents Are You Wasting as a Mom?
What Have I Learned as a Mom?
What's in It for Me?
Adoption—The Heart of God
The Making of a Man part 4
The Making of a Man part 3
The Making of a Man part 2
The Making of a Man
Are Your Children Safe from Bullying?
Are Your Children Safe from Child-napping and Sexual Abuse?
Are Your Children Safe?
The Value of Remembering
Marjorie Rutherford: A Testimony to God's Faithfulness
Marjorie Conrad: A Testimony to God's Trustworthiness
Starting School Again
Dependence or Independence?
Breast Milk Made Especially for Your Child
What Is Essential for Babies?
My Space, My Time, My Needs
What's a Mom?
A Mother's Influence
A Mother of Boys
Prepare for the Lord: Thoughts for Moms from Exodus 19