Choices: Building A Godly Generation
- kaneisha king
- Feb 7, 2018
- 7 min read
I had the privilege of growing up with an extremely transparent mother. She never shied away from having "real-talk" conversations about the not so wise decisions she made over the course of her life and man did she have plenty to share! Thanks to her transparency, I thought twice about the choices I made throughout life. I made it a solemn goal to avoid all of my mom's mistakes and to do better. Of course I fell short in certain areas, but overall, my mom's mistakes and life advice kept me from A LOT of potential foolery!
"My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck."
(Proverbs 1:8-9)
Unfortunately, It's unlikely for most young adults of my generation to really consider their choices. We live in the Y.O.L.O Era (you.only.live.once), which encourages one to make as many mistakes as they can while young, before their "too old" and held accountable for those mistakes! Or worst, most believe that nothing bad can come of their decisions. Most of us just "wing" it, we seek advice from un-wise sources (who are sometimes our own family), or we model our life after whom we deem as "successful" by our own terms. Do you ever really think about how the choices you make shape your future generation? Notice I didn’t say YOUR future, but your "future generation". Have you been preparing or choosing for the short-term or the long-term?
God's word is full of conversation about entrusting you with the responsibility of building a godly generation. We need to leave a legacy of disciples, people that know how to take the reins of life along with God's wisdom, who will continue to build God's kingdom, and become world changers for generations to come. Here is the BIG PICTURE. When you are led by God's wisdom and choose to live a life yielding to His instruction, you are setting your future and your generation to come up for true success! (SIDE NOTE: OMG I'm gonna be someone's grandma someday! WOAH!)
"2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out."
(Deuteronomy 28:2-6)
#Blessings on Blessings on Blessings
( Keep reading through to verse #14! )
FREE WILL: The Pros & Cons of "CHOICE"
"O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways."
(proverbs 23:26)
Before coming to know God, I use to think he was the author of all things bad and all things good. So when things went bad in life I blamed God & when things went well I praised him. It wasn’t long before I was saved that I realized that I had been the cause of A LOT of my own chaos. It was MY choices that lead me into unfruitful relationships, debt, and even my muffin top (I love sweets!)!
I began to understand the scene with Eve in the Garden of Eden more clearly. People often question why God didn’t just come down and knock the peach from Eve's hand! (I'm a Georgia girl so It was a peach in my mind lol). But doing that would have made God a liar. How you ask? Well, If He says He's a God of Love, He has to give us free will. Otherwise, this whole relationship thing turns into a dictatorship. There is no such thing as a love that controls!
*God doesn't want robots! He wants you to trust that His word is true above all else and to always choose His path over our own or what "seems" right!*
*SIDE NOTE: We live in a sinful world ruled by the enemy. I'm aware of the bad things that happen that are out of our control (I.e. sicknesses & other devastating disasters) However, it is important to remember that the God we serve is only the author of the good, not the bad. Continue to trust Him in every situation thrown your way and watch your faith and your God triumph over all evil!
"He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!"
(Deuteronomy 32:4)
A Godly Generation Revealed
John The Baptist:
John's parents were committed disciples of God. Due to their obedience, God promised to bless well-aged & barren Elisabeth with a son, whom they would name John. They were promised that their precious baby boy would do wonders for God's Kingdom & that he'd be extremely blessed before he was even conceived!
"For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord...and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him (Christ) in the spirit of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
(Luke 1:15-17)
*John's parents knew what was up! Their obedience to God, left them with a legacy of a child who both prepared the way AND introduced the savior of the world! Jesus himself even gave him props!
(Luke 7:28)
A Generation Revoked
Saul:
We all know what It's like to "do us" or to bend the rules a little. Consequently, we often don't realize how detrimental un-wise choices can be to our safety, finances, reputation, and ultimately the generation we plan to produce. Do you remember the story of King Saul? (Read up on 1st & 2nd Samuel) Saul was appointed King of Israel, but his pride led to un-wise choices and ultimately to the end of both his reign and his generation!
A Quick Recap of 1 Samuel Chapter 15
God instructs Saul to destroy the Amalekite people (they were an evil generation who would soon poison the lives of generations to come). In addition to ALL the people, God also instructs Saul to destroy all their live-stock! (1SAM 15:1-3) #THOUGH THE WHOLE GENERATION AWAY!
Saul chooses to do half of what God instructs. He destroys the people, but keeps some of the best of the live-stock for his own pleasures and also chooses to spare the life of the Amalekite King! (1SAM 15: 8-9) #HALF THE MISSION IS NO MISSION AT ALL SAUL!
Saul is CUT OFF! (The cost of un-wise choices)
Saul tries to justify his un-wise choice by making it seem like he was thinking of God when he was only thinking of himself.
“But Samuel replied: Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams
(1 SAM 15:22)
"Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."
(1 SAM 15: 23)
*Saul's reign was passed down to King David (the giant slayer), No-one from Saul's generation continued the reign. Saul's son Johnathan was killed in battle, so there was no heir to his thrown. However, King David's generation later leads to the birth of the Savior of the world! (Think about it)
Influencing Wise choices
King David's final words of wisdom to his son Solomon:
2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.
(1 Kings 2:2-4)
And Solomon grows up to be the wisest man in all the world, & David's throne is succeeded by various Kings leading all the way up to THE King of Kings, Jesus!!
~SUMMARY~
The goal of this post was to encourage you to think about the choices you make. They don't just affect you, they affect the lives of people all around you as well as the those who will continue the legacy after you. Even if you don't want kids, your influence is critical in the lives of others. Therefore, how you choose to live matter's greatly and choices without Godly wisdom lead to some sort of sacrifice or consequence that will catch up to you sooner or later! So rather its being obedient with pursuing the career God's told you to do, walking away from a toxic relationship, or even choosing better eating habits...all choices both large and small help to shape your future & the future of those after you! Choose wisely, there is no such thing as Y.O.L.O (you only live once) for disciples of Christ, we have a life (true life) after this one...don't get comfortable here!
The Bounce BACK:
When you make bad choices (because we all do) BOUNCE BACK! Thanks to God's Grace, He has this wonderful ability to transform our bad around for our good! So don't wallow in guilt & shame if you've made bad choices. The goal is to learn from them & not repeat them!
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
(Romans 8:28)
Grace & Peace Be With You
Kaneisha
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