Don't Lose Your Legacy
"Saul was a young man when he was chosen to lead Israel..."(1 Samuel 13:1)
Saul was chosen by God to lead Israel, God's special nation, as their first king. From all accounts it appears that Jonathan, Saul's son, would have made an excellent king too. And of course it would have made sense that Jonathan would have ascended the throne after his father. But that wouldn't be the case. Saul lost his "annointing", his "God-nod" and blessing from God. Which meant Jonathan lost the opportunity to be his father's successor. And it wasn't in one disastrous moment that Saul lost his throne...it was little slips time after time. Multiple opportunties were given for Saul to act in humble obedience to God. But Saul consistently acted in selfish, foolish ways. In one episode, he almost lost Jonathan to a stupid curse.
"Saul did something really foolish that day..." (1 Samuel 14:24) He spoke a curse against any soldier that ate before nightfall. He apparently wanted them to focus on winning the battle, forgetting they would need energy to fight! Jonathan was not around when Saul made the oath, so when Jonathan got hungry and helped himself to some wild honey, the soldiers were horrified. Realizing that Jonathan didn't know what Saul had said, they quickly explained the situation to Jonathan. Jonathan realized quickly that Saul had acted rashly and tried to persuade the soldiers to eat for strength...but they feared Saul's wrath more than they trusted Jonathan's sense. While Jonathan continued to shake his head at his father's foolishness, the soldiers won the battle...but barely! When all the fighting was over, they were so hungry that they began to "glutton" themselves on the livestock, committing a sin of eating meat with blood. Saul was called over and he built the first altar of his ministry in order to undo the sins of the soldiers...and make up for the foolish decision he had made earlier in the day. To make matters worse, it became clear to Saul that someone had gone against his fasting declaration and would need to be punished. He decided to flex his justice muscles and declared (he really needed to stop declaring) that even if the perpetrator was his own son, the man would die. Trouble was, it was his son. Jonathan, who had been the only one with enough sense to strengthen himself for battle, was about to be killed in front of the entire army by his own father. Jonathan spoke up for himself: "I licked a bit of honey off the tip of the staff I was carrying. That's it--and for that I'm going to die?" Even the soldiers rose up in Jonathan's defense: "Jonathan die? Never! He's just carried out this stunning salvation victory for Israel. As surely as God lives, not a hair on his head is going to be harmed. Why, he's been working hand-in-hand with God all day!"
Jonathan didn't die that day. But he did die a young man in a violent way because of the enemies that Saul had made and because of the protection Saul had lost when he disobeyed God.
What is my point for you? Don't lose your legacy. You may not even miss it...but it may be your child's life. Saul was a "act now-think later" kind of leader. He led from emotion (mostly anger and fear) and not from the Spirit that God wanted him to lead with. My generation of parents (we were born in the late 60's and 70's and we have kids in school right now) likes...no, loves...to experience life. We make a lot of decisions based on what we feel right now. The deal with feelings is that most of them are temporary. I'm not trying to knock feelings. They were created by God, and that makes them a very good thing. But they aren't meant to govern all of our decisions. They are meant to offer us a platform of compassion for God's creation. The lesson we learn from Saul in this story, and in multiple stories from his reign, is that feelings are temporary (here today, gone tomorrow...if they last that long!); but decisions made from a temporary feeling last a very long time. How do you make your decisions? Decisions about time, money, occupation, housing? Decisions about discipline, romance, free time, friendship, hobbies? Decisions about ethical matters like drinking, gambling, sex, and other recreational habits? Do you "go with the flow", "do what feels right", "follow your heart", "feed the need"? You would not be alone. Our parents may have coined these phrases and even taught us how...but we have nearly perfected this way of living. But at what cost?. As parents, we are the only people that can leave a legacy for our children. Many people in the community can leave them a blessing; legacies come from parents. Have you given much thought this year to what legacy you will leave your children? This is more than a financial matter, although that's important. This is a spiritual matter. How rich or poor in spirit will your child be because of the decisions you make today? Could you leave a richer legacy if decisions about lifestyle, relationships, ethics, recreation and the like were made not from an emotional place but from a spiritual place? "God, how would you direct my choices? What would you have me do?" Of course, that requires us to exercise the discipline of talking to God first...and waiting for a response. This requires patience, devotion, and well, yes, discipline. And maybe that's the point. Maybe waiting out the emotion and being led by the Spirit is exactly the safeguard our legacy needs. If you have the joy of doing so, run your fingers through your child's hair right now. Pause at the crown of his head or cup her chin in your hands and think to yourself "...so worth it."
Don't Overlook Your Child's Potential (from 1 Samuel 16)
At this point, Saul is on his way out. God has already chosen another king from another family. He tells the priest Samuel to head to Jesse's house. The new king is there. Samuel arrives at Jesse's and tells him to go get the boys. Well, Luke and Bo (haha, not really) and the 5 other strapping sons of Jesse line up. Samuel is very impressed. Big, strong boys...they reminded him of Saul. Any one of these boys looks like king material. Of course, it's the oldest. That's how things are done. Samuel feels strongly about this, but God says, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart."
That's an indictment! Would we really be so shallow as to choose the king of a nation based a guys muscle mass and complexion??!? Even as I type the words, I know it's true. Samuel is pretty good by this time at listening to God and being led by the Spirit and he is sure that God is passing by all these studs. He checks again to see if Jesse has forgotten someone. Sure enough, Jesse says, "Well, there's the runt. But he's out tending the sheep." David doesn't anymore walk in the door than Samuel is pouring the Lord's annointing oil over his bewildered head.
Now, it would take David some years to grow into the throne of Israel. And David would make some pretty big mistakes along the way. But David's heart remained committed to God and God's Spirit stayed with David.
But what was almost missed was the greatest king Israel ever knew because David's dad had already decided David didn't measure up. I guess if you are the youngest of 8 and everyone but you has reached puberty, you are voted least likely to lead the nation. I don't think Jesse was being mean or cruel or even neglectful. He just wasn't being led by the same Spirit that Samuel was. What is the lesson for us? If we want our children to achieve all the greatness they can, we have to be led by the Spirit in our parenting. Which of us really knows what our children will do in the world as adults? Good grief, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up.
Now, we have been trained to offer our children lots of opportunities for growth: classes, tutors, private lessons, all-stars, performances, contests. But in the midst of offering the world to our children in the effort to create a well-rounded super-human race, are we offering them to God for his use? What potential does God see in our children? What if we, after giving them the world, concluded the day by saying, "You can be anything you want to be when you grow up, just be God's."
Then again, maybe we have Jesse all wrong. Maybe Jesse left David in the field precisely because he knew he could be Israel's next king. When I see a political figure or public figure being ripped to shreds by the media or greater population, I sometimes wonder about the pain this is causing her/his family. What do his children think? Does this grieve her parents? You know it does! Maybe Jesse saw Samuel coming and had a parental premonition that one of his kids was about to get a holy oil shower. He thought about his 8 boys and knew (like good parents do) that David was just right for the job. Stronger than his size, smarter than his years, braver than his brothers...maybe Jesse thought if he could just hide David a little longer...
Don't you wish we could hide our kids from the world sometimes? Not that they would let us, but it would be nice. Now, I think shielding our kids from darkness in the world is a must. But there is a difference between attentive parenting and helicopter parenting. Hovering isn't helpful. If we want our kids to trust God, we have to trust God with our kids
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
A Dad's Tale
Don't Lose Your Legacy
"Saul was a young man when he was chosen to lead Israel..."(1 Samuel 13:1)
Saul was chosen by God to lead Israel, God's special nation, as their first king. From all accounts it appears that Jonathan, Saul's son, would have made an excellent king too. And of course it would have made sense that Jonathan would have ascended the throne after his father. But that wouldn't be the case. Saul lost his "annointing", his "God-nod" and blessing from God. Which meant Jonathan lost the opportunity to be his father's successor. And it wasn't in one disastrous moment that Saul lost his throne...it was little slips time after time. Multiple opportunties were given for Saul to act in humble obedience to God. But Saul consistently acted in selfish, foolish ways. In one episode, he almost lost Jonathan to a stupid curse.
"Saul did something really foolish that day..." (1 Samuel 14:24) He spoke a curse against any soldier that ate before nightfall. He apparently wanted them to focus on winning the battle, forgetting they would need energy to fight! Jonathan was not around when Saul made the oath, so when Jonathan got hungry and helped himself to some wild honey, the soldiers were horrified. Realizing that Jonathan didn't know what Saul had said, they quickly explained the situation to Jonathan. Jonathan realized quickly that Saul had acted rashly and tried to persuade the soldiers to eat for strength...but they feared Saul's wrath more than they trusted Jonathan's sense. While Jonathan continued to shake his head at his father's foolishness, the soldiers won the battle...but barely! When all the fighting was over, they were so hungry that they began to "glutton" themselves on the livestock, committing a sin of eating meat with blood. Saul was called over and he built the first altar of his ministry in order to undo the sins of the soldiers...and make up for the foolish decision he had made earlier in the day. To make matters worse, it became clear to Saul that someone had gone against his fasting declaration and would need to be punished. He decided to flex his justice muscles and declared (he really needed to stop declaring) that even if the perpetrator was his own son, the man would die. Trouble was, it was his son. Jonathan, who had been the only one with enough sense to strengthen himself for battle, was about to be killed in front of the entire army by his own father. Jonathan spoke up for himself: "I licked a bit of honey off the tip of the staff I was carrying. That's it--and for that I'm going to die?" Even the soldiers rose up in Jonathan's defense: "Jonathan die? Never! He's just carried out this stunning salvation victory for Israel. As surely as God lives, not a hair on his head is going to be harmed. Why, he's been working hand-in-hand with God all day!"
Jonathan didn't die that day. But he did die a young man in a violent way because of the enemies that Saul had made and because of the protection Saul had lost when he disobeyed God.
What is my point for you? Don't lose your legacy. You may not even miss it...but it may be your child's life. Saul was a "act now-think later" kind of leader. He led from emotion (mostly anger and fear) and not from the Spirit that God wanted him to lead with. My generation of parents (we were born in the late 60's and 70's and we have kids in school right now) likes...no, loves...to experience life. We make a lot of decisions based on what we feel right now. The deal with feelings is that most of them are temporary. I'm not trying to knock feelings. They were created by God, and that makes them a very good thing. But they aren't meant to govern all of our decisions. They are meant to offer us a platform of compassion for God's creation. The lesson we learn from Saul in this story, and in multiple stories from his reign, is that feelings are temporary (here today, gone tomorrow...if they last that long!); but decisions made from a temporary feeling last a very long time. How do you make your decisions? Decisions about time, money, occupation, housing? Decisions about discipline, romance, free time, friendship, hobbies? Decisions about ethical matters like drinking, gambling, sex, and other recreational habits? Do you "go with the flow", "do what feels right", "follow your heart", "feed the need"? You would not be alone. Our parents may have coined these phrases and even taught us how...but we have nearly perfected this way of living. But at what cost?. As parents, we are the only people that can leave a legacy for our children. Many people in the community can leave them a blessing; legacies come from parents. Have you given much thought this year to what legacy you will leave your children? This is more than a financial matter, although that's important. This is a spiritual matter. How rich or poor in spirit will your child be because of the decisions you make today? Could you leave a richer legacy if decisions about lifestyle, relationships, ethics, recreation and the like were made not from an emotional place but from a spiritual place? "God, how would you direct my choices? What would you have me do?" Of course, that requires us to exercise the discipline of talking to God first...and waiting for a response. This requires patience, devotion, and well, yes, discipline. And maybe that's the point. Maybe waiting out the emotion and being led by the Spirit is exactly the safeguard our legacy needs. If you have the joy of doing so, run your fingers through your child's hair right now. Pause at the crown of his head or cup her chin in your hands and think to yourself "...so worth it."
Don't Overlook Your Child's Potential (from 1 Samuel 16)
At this point, Saul is on his way out. God has already chosen another king from another family. He tells the priest Samuel to head to Jesse's house. The new king is there. Samuel arrives at Jesse's and tells him to go get the boys. Well, Luke and Bo (haha, not really) and the 5 other strapping sons of Jesse line up. Samuel is very impressed. Big, strong boys...they reminded him of Saul. Any one of these boys looks like king material. Of course, it's the oldest. That's how things are done. Samuel feels strongly about this, but God says, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart."
That's an indictment! Would we really be so shallow as to choose the king of a nation based a guys muscle mass and complexion??!? Even as I type the words, I know it's true. Samuel is pretty good by this time at listening to God and being led by the Spirit and he is sure that God is passing by all these studs. He checks again to see if Jesse has forgotten someone. Sure enough, Jesse says, "Well, there's the runt. But he's out tending the sheep." David doesn't anymore walk in the door than Samuel is pouring the Lord's annointing oil over his bewildered head.
Now, it would take David some years to grow into the throne of Israel. And David would make some pretty big mistakes along the way. But David's heart remained committed to God and God's Spirit stayed with David.
But what was almost missed was the greatest king Israel ever knew because David's dad had already decided David didn't measure up. I guess if you are the youngest of 8 and everyone but you has reached puberty, you are voted least likely to lead the nation. I don't think Jesse was being mean or cruel or even neglectful. He just wasn't being led by the same Spirit that Samuel was. What is the lesson for us? If we want our children to achieve all the greatness they can, we have to be led by the Spirit in our parenting. Which of us really knows what our children will do in the world as adults? Good grief, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up.
Now, we have been trained to offer our children lots of opportunities for growth: classes, tutors, private lessons, all-stars, performances, contests. But in the midst of offering the world to our children in the effort to create a well-rounded super-human race, are we offering them to God for his use? What potential does God see in our children? What if we, after giving them the world, concluded the day by saying, "You can be anything you want to be when you grow up, just be God's."
Then again, maybe we have Jesse all wrong. Maybe Jesse left David in the field precisely because he knew he could be Israel's next king. When I see a political figure or public figure being ripped to shreds by the media or greater population, I sometimes wonder about the pain this is causing her/his family. What do his children think? Does this grieve her parents? You know it does! Maybe Jesse saw Samuel coming and had a parental premonition that one of his kids was about to get a holy oil shower. He thought about his 8 boys and knew (like good parents do) that David was just right for the job. Stronger than his size, smarter than his years, braver than his brothers...maybe Jesse thought if he could just hide David a little longer...
Don't you wish we could hide our kids from the world sometimes? Not that they would let us, but it would be nice. Now, I think shielding our kids from darkness in the world is a must. But there is a difference between attentive parenting and helicopter parenting. Hovering isn't helpful. If we want our kids to trust God, we have to trust God with our kids
Don't Lose Your Legacy
"Saul was a young man when he was chosen to lead Israel..."(1 Samuel 13:1)
Saul was chosen by God to lead Israel, God's special nation, as their first king. From all accounts it appears that Jonathan, Saul's son, would have made an excellent king too. And of course it would have made sense that Jonathan would have ascended the throne after his father. But that wouldn't be the case. Saul lost his "annointing", his "God-nod" and blessing from God. Which meant Jonathan lost the opportunity to be his father's successor. And it wasn't in one disastrous moment that Saul lost his throne...it was little slips time after time. Multiple opportunties were given for Saul to act in humble obedience to God. But Saul consistently acted in selfish, foolish ways. In one episode, he almost lost Jonathan to a stupid curse.
"Saul did something really foolish that day..." (1 Samuel 14:24) He spoke a curse against any soldier that ate before nightfall. He apparently wanted them to focus on winning the battle, forgetting they would need energy to fight! Jonathan was not around when Saul made the oath, so when Jonathan got hungry and helped himself to some wild honey, the soldiers were horrified. Realizing that Jonathan didn't know what Saul had said, they quickly explained the situation to Jonathan. Jonathan realized quickly that Saul had acted rashly and tried to persuade the soldiers to eat for strength...but they feared Saul's wrath more than they trusted Jonathan's sense. While Jonathan continued to shake his head at his father's foolishness, the soldiers won the battle...but barely! When all the fighting was over, they were so hungry that they began to "glutton" themselves on the livestock, committing a sin of eating meat with blood. Saul was called over and he built the first altar of his ministry in order to undo the sins of the soldiers...and make up for the foolish decision he had made earlier in the day. To make matters worse, it became clear to Saul that someone had gone against his fasting declaration and would need to be punished. He decided to flex his justice muscles and declared (he really needed to stop declaring) that even if the perpetrator was his own son, the man would die. Trouble was, it was his son. Jonathan, who had been the only one with enough sense to strengthen himself for battle, was about to be killed in front of the entire army by his own father. Jonathan spoke up for himself: "I licked a bit of honey off the tip of the staff I was carrying. That's it--and for that I'm going to die?" Even the soldiers rose up in Jonathan's defense: "Jonathan die? Never! He's just carried out this stunning salvation victory for Israel. As surely as God lives, not a hair on his head is going to be harmed. Why, he's been working hand-in-hand with God all day!"
Jonathan didn't die that day. But he did die a young man in a violent way because of the enemies that Saul had made and because of the protection Saul had lost when he disobeyed God.
What is my point for you? Don't lose your legacy. You may not even miss it...but it may be your child's life. Saul was a "act now-think later" kind of leader. He led from emotion (mostly anger and fear) and not from the Spirit that God wanted him to lead with. My generation of parents (we were born in the late 60's and 70's and we have kids in school right now) likes...no, loves...to experience life. We make a lot of decisions based on what we feel right now. The deal with feelings is that most of them are temporary. I'm not trying to knock feelings. They were created by God, and that makes them a very good thing. But they aren't meant to govern all of our decisions. They are meant to offer us a platform of compassion for God's creation. The lesson we learn from Saul in this story, and in multiple stories from his reign, is that feelings are temporary (here today, gone tomorrow...if they last that long!); but decisions made from a temporary feeling last a very long time. How do you make your decisions? Decisions about time, money, occupation, housing? Decisions about discipline, romance, free time, friendship, hobbies? Decisions about ethical matters like drinking, gambling, sex, and other recreational habits? Do you "go with the flow", "do what feels right", "follow your heart", "feed the need"? You would not be alone. Our parents may have coined these phrases and even taught us how...but we have nearly perfected this way of living. But at what cost?. As parents, we are the only people that can leave a legacy for our children. Many people in the community can leave them a blessing; legacies come from parents. Have you given much thought this year to what legacy you will leave your children? This is more than a financial matter, although that's important. This is a spiritual matter. How rich or poor in spirit will your child be because of the decisions you make today? Could you leave a richer legacy if decisions about lifestyle, relationships, ethics, recreation and the like were made not from an emotional place but from a spiritual place? "God, how would you direct my choices? What would you have me do?" Of course, that requires us to exercise the discipline of talking to God first...and waiting for a response. This requires patience, devotion, and well, yes, discipline. And maybe that's the point. Maybe waiting out the emotion and being led by the Spirit is exactly the safeguard our legacy needs. If you have the joy of doing so, run your fingers through your child's hair right now. Pause at the crown of his head or cup her chin in your hands and think to yourself "...so worth it."
Don't Overlook Your Child's Potential (from 1 Samuel 16)
At this point, Saul is on his way out. God has already chosen another king from another family. He tells the priest Samuel to head to Jesse's house. The new king is there. Samuel arrives at Jesse's and tells him to go get the boys. Well, Luke and Bo (haha, not really) and the 5 other strapping sons of Jesse line up. Samuel is very impressed. Big, strong boys...they reminded him of Saul. Any one of these boys looks like king material. Of course, it's the oldest. That's how things are done. Samuel feels strongly about this, but God says, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart."
That's an indictment! Would we really be so shallow as to choose the king of a nation based a guys muscle mass and complexion??!? Even as I type the words, I know it's true. Samuel is pretty good by this time at listening to God and being led by the Spirit and he is sure that God is passing by all these studs. He checks again to see if Jesse has forgotten someone. Sure enough, Jesse says, "Well, there's the runt. But he's out tending the sheep." David doesn't anymore walk in the door than Samuel is pouring the Lord's annointing oil over his bewildered head.
Now, it would take David some years to grow into the throne of Israel. And David would make some pretty big mistakes along the way. But David's heart remained committed to God and God's Spirit stayed with David.
But what was almost missed was the greatest king Israel ever knew because David's dad had already decided David didn't measure up. I guess if you are the youngest of 8 and everyone but you has reached puberty, you are voted least likely to lead the nation. I don't think Jesse was being mean or cruel or even neglectful. He just wasn't being led by the same Spirit that Samuel was. What is the lesson for us? If we want our children to achieve all the greatness they can, we have to be led by the Spirit in our parenting. Which of us really knows what our children will do in the world as adults? Good grief, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up.
Now, we have been trained to offer our children lots of opportunities for growth: classes, tutors, private lessons, all-stars, performances, contests. But in the midst of offering the world to our children in the effort to create a well-rounded super-human race, are we offering them to God for his use? What potential does God see in our children? What if we, after giving them the world, concluded the day by saying, "You can be anything you want to be when you grow up, just be God's."
Then again, maybe we have Jesse all wrong. Maybe Jesse left David in the field precisely because he knew he could be Israel's next king. When I see a political figure or public figure being ripped to shreds by the media or greater population, I sometimes wonder about the pain this is causing her/his family. What do his children think? Does this grieve her parents? You know it does! Maybe Jesse saw Samuel coming and had a parental premonition that one of his kids was about to get a holy oil shower. He thought about his 8 boys and knew (like good parents do) that David was just right for the job. Stronger than his size, smarter than his years, braver than his brothers...maybe Jesse thought if he could just hide David a little longer...
Don't you wish we could hide our kids from the world sometimes? Not that they would let us, but it would be nice. Now, I think shielding our kids from darkness in the world is a must. But there is a difference between attentive parenting and helicopter parenting. Hovering isn't helpful. If we want our kids to trust God, we have to trust God with our kids
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