Somebody Has To Be First
During the years when slavery was an accepted practice in the United States, brave men and women risked their lives and fortunes to fight against it. Today the idea of a race of people being enslaved by another race is appalling.
However, there was a time in the history of America when the idea of abolishing slavery was considered radical. People who worked on the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape to freedom were considered thieves by some–how dare they steal other people’s property!
In 1850 the U.S. government even passed the Fugitive Slave Law which required citizens to return runaway slaves to their owners. Imagine getting into trouble with the law because you didn’t help to capture runaway slaves!
Each day last week and each day this week I am with homeschooled children who are practicing so they can tell this story well–a story of slaves and plantation owners, of runaways and slave catchers, of abolitionists and people grappling with where they fit in all this.
The abolitionist movement grew; but in every neighborhood, someone had to be first.
Some families need one family member willing to be the first to start an “abolitionist” movement within the family.
In some families certain sins have gone on for generations. Many years ago I met a man heavily involved in pornography. His wife told me that during his pre-Internet childhood, his own father had showed him porn movies in the basement.
I imagine that many an alcoholic has sneaked his first drink from a parent’s stash of liquor. Because members of past generations in my own family have struggled with alcoholism, I always taught our children to stay completely away from it. While I believe that people choose to drink of their own accord, I also know that certain individuals seem to be more tempted with some sins than with others. Since my family has struggled with alcohol, I think it is best that we don’t play around with it at all.
I encourage you to think about your own family. Some of the values and habits you learned are worth emulating throughout the generations. Others may need to be dropped–and quick! God’s Word is the standard for deciding which is which.
If your family has struggles, you have the opportunity to break the cycle with yourself and with the generation you are rearing for the glory of God. Somebody has to be first.
If your family suffers from decisions to fall into multi-generational sins, work to be sure that you and your children are not like Jehoaichin:
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king,
and he reigned three months in Jerusalem;
and his mother’s name was Nehushta
the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
He did evil in the sight of the Lord,
according to all that his father had done.
2 Kings 24:8-9
Make godly decisions and help your children be able to be like Hezekiah:
Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old;
and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem.
And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
He did right in the sight of the Lord,
according to all that his father David had done.
2 Chronicles 29:1-2