In work and family, the Bible has transformative power

OPINION:

Jackie was a high school senior when I proposed. We had dated only five months, and five months later we were married.

The decision was easy for me. I knew I loved her and wanted to get married, though it took some time for me to get her to that point.

On our first date she wasn’t even sure it was a date. She agreed to the dinner because she thought I wanted to inquire about another girl. After a while, when I hadn’t even brought the subject up, she started thinking, maybe this is a date! I’m glad she didn’t know it was a date, otherwise she might have declined. Fortunately for me, she said yes to the date and to my marriage proposal.

Two years after getting married we had our first child. He would be our only son of six children. Getting married is a life-changing event. When you are by yourself, you make all the decisions. But once you get married, deciding where to eat becomes a discussion, a negotiation, or it can even become an argument. Life is forever changed.

Having children, as well, is life-changing. Your time is no longer “your time.” The middle of the night is usually “my time” to sleep, but with a new family member in the house another discussion ensues to determine who gets to give up their time to take care of the needs of others.

With each new phase of life there is opportunity for friction and division, or the challenges can be an opportunity to grow together. We have found that the Bible has been a great guide for life, especially in times of struggle. Jesus sums up the teachings of the Bible through two directives. Love God and love others. Because of the extreme love Jesus showed for us by dying for us, we have the ability to love others. He modeled for us how we can love others even when it’s not deserved.

As we started our family, Jackie and I knew early on in our marriage that our priority, our first responsibility, was to raise our children to the best of our ability. That included providing for them, teaching them, disciplining them as needed and, above all, loving them. There were times when I was jealous of my wife because she was able to take on the primary role of our most important job, raising our children. While I went to work to provide for the family, she was able to stay home doing the important work.

This lesson was not something we came up with on our own; it was modeled for us by our parents. On a regular basis at Hobby Lobby’s corporate campus, we invite our new co-managers in to learn about the company. My dad, who is CEO of the company, will address those in attendance and let them know that their family is more important than their job. He finds that being successful on the job can be easier than being successful in raising a family. They are encouraged to work hard at work and even harder at home. Our stores are only open 66 hours each week. This gives opportunity to serve our customers and allows our employees the time to spend on their most important job, their families.

Jackie and I are blessed. We grew up in loving homes, each of our parents grew up in loving homes, and the book that has guided all of us has been and is the Bible.

What I have learned is that when life is lived according to the guidelines God intended, it has served mankind well. That is what motivated our family to be a part of building the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. We want to invite all people to engage with the transformative power of the Bible.

• Steve Green is President of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., the world’s largest privately owned arts and crafts retailer. He is also Chairman of the Board of the 430,000-square-foot Museum of the Bible, which opened in Washington, D.C., in November 2017 and is dedicated to a scholarly and engaging presentation of the Bible’s impact, history, and narrative. Mr. Green has authored four books, including “The Bible in America,” which explains how the Bible has guided America’s history and continues to shape both national and personal destinies.