HUMAN CLAY: Parental Power

Read 1 Kings 22:51-53.

1 Kings ends with several verses that summarize the course of the kingdom of Israel. Did you realize that from its inception when the northern kingdom split from the southern kingdom of Judah, that spiritual decline was the constant course until its demise? The reign of each king was an unbroken chain of wickedness, until God judged them.  The southern kingdom of Judah was much the same, except that occasionally a king would break the pattern and a spiritual awakening would return the people briefly back to God.  Yet, final decline would follow and Judah would fall as well.

It is an illustration of parental power. Can you imagine having the notorious Ahab and Jezebel as your father and mother?  That was the home prince Ahaziah was raised in. No wonder he became a wicked king after Ahab and Jezebel’s deaths. “He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.” (v.52-53‬).

The reality is that each of those wicked kings had occasion to repent.  They chose to rebel against God. Parental power is not a guarantor the children will become as their parents, yet it is such a strong influence. Physically, you can often see someone who walks like their dad—and I have observed this spiritually, as well. We dare not minimize the impact of what parents say to their children in their messages. Yet, we must maximize the influence from what parents show to their children in their model. They will often become what we are more than what we say.

We will not be perfect parents. Only God the Father is. Yet, His grace is available to empower us. His Word is accessible to equip us. Pray and seek to practice what you preach—including repentance when you fail. Our walk with God is the most important thing about our life this side of eternity, and it will be the greatest influence on our children and generations to come.