My mother taught me several valuable lessons about relationships. One of those lessons was about not inviting yourself to someone’s house. Mother wouldn’t let me go anywhere if she thought I had invited myself rather than being invited. Her reasoning was that people treat invited guests different than they treat those who have invited themselves.
Another lesson she taught me was about over staying your welcome. Just because you were invited doesn’t mean you’re invited to stay forever. People and families need time to be alone, or to have time just with their family.
I heard my mother’s voice as I read: “Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you” (Prov. 25:17 ESV). A person’s home is their sanctuary. If they constantly have guests, invited or uninvited, they won’t have the space needed to relax.
As a single young man I traveled the country as a full-time evangelist. Often I’d stay in a pastor’s home in a spare bedroom. I always tried to be cognizant of my welcome. I’d be sure to be as unnoticed as humanly possible. I’d come in at a decent hour, and keep the room tidy. But I’d wake up before the pastor and his family to leave and find a coffee shop or go to the church to study and prepare for the day. I didn’t want to be a nuisance while I was staying in a pastor’s home.
The book of Proverbs provides many life lessons that may not seem spiritual on the surface, but can be very beneficial for day to day living. It’d be wise to go through the book of Proverbs and read slowly marking valuable life lessons to be applied to your life.