Anger and an attitude of disrespect are running rampant in our culture. There is disrespect for cultural norms, disrespect for authority, disrespect for the law, disrespect for our history and its context, and disrespect for others. And anger seems to permeate everything. At the root of it all, is disrespect for God and His Word.

These attitudes have already cost us all a great deal and show no sign of stopping. That cost is more than temporal. There are eternal consequences, as well.

Today’s Readings:

2 Chronicles 21 & 22
Psalm 83.1-8
Proverbs 21.1
Acts 17.16-34

The Eternal Cost of Anger & Disrespect

2 Chronicles 21 & 22:

The Consequences of Compromise

King Jehoshaphat, one of Judah’s good kings has died and his son Jehoram has been crowned as the new king. If you have read Jehoshaphat’s story (chapters 17-20), you know that he was a good king in most ways. But he had one major flaw, his associations and alliances with evil people, namely King Ahab. 2 Chronicles 18.1 says, “… he allied himself by marriage with Ahab.”

In fact, his son Jehoram, the new king, is married to Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah. And Jehoshaphat’s and Jehoram’s compromises will have huge consequences for their family and the nation.

Our Associations Influence Our Children

So, how do you suppose Jehoram and Athaliah met? Did Jehoshaphat take his little boy along as he went to Samaria on business? Did he and Athaliah play together as children? When did it occur to Jehoshaphat that this would be a good idea? It almost certainly had a political component to it, as well.

We don’t know how it all worked out, but somehow they ended up married. And Jehoram would follow the ways of his wife’s family. One of Jehoram’s first acts after he established himself as king was to have all his brothers killed. His wife would eventually kill her own grandchildren so she could seize power after her husband’s and sons’ deaths! What a family heritage!

Compromise is costly. And it doesn’t just affect us. It affects those around us, especially our children. It’s been said that, “What you do in moderation, your children will do to excess.” That is often the case.

Compromise is like an off-ramp from the freeway. Once you get on it, you’re heading somewhere else. As believers, we should not think we can exit just a little way. We should avoid anything that might lead us or others, especially our children, into disaster (1 Cor. 10.14, 8.13).

Our Responsibility & Theirs

As parents, we are responsible before God for our choices, including the influences we allow in their lives. But our children are still responsible for how they respond to those things. Ezekiel 18.1-20:

¹ The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying:

‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

³ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.”

So, we need to do our best to parent well and be godly examples to our children, but we must also help our children understand that they are still responsible for their choices. Circumstances and influences do not make us sin.

Anger & Disrespect

When God allows challenging circumstances, difficult people, or other influences in our lives, He intends to help us see our need for Him and, as believers, to help us respond in godly ways. That’s true for us and for our children.

But in our own nation and many others around the world, instead of turning to God and trusting Him, instead of taking responsibility for our own actions and decisions, instead of lovingly holding one another responsible, we have become a nation of blame-shifters. And that blame-shifting has turned to anger and disrespect toward every kind of authority. It has, in turn, led to increasing ungodliness and a breakdown of law and order. And we are living that out before our children and others.

When we don’t learn to trust in God’s sovereignty and respect the human authority He places in our lives, it reveals an unwillingness to live under His authority. The result is what we see all around us … a lack of human kindness and decency, a loss of respect for life, and a complete breakdown of morality.

How could this be affecting our children?

Making It Harder

As a society, we are making it harder and harder for our children and others to do right. Or perhaps I should say it this way, we are making it easier for them to do wrong.

When we applaud movie stars, politicians, and others who openly curse and show disrespect for elected officials, for one another, and for the rule of law, we’re teaching them that kind of behavior is acceptable.

When the destruction of property is applauded and breaking the law is justified, we’re teaching them the opposite of what God says about living under civil authority. Romans 13:

¹ Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴ for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 

When we tell our children to obey our authority while we brag about speeding, show disrespect when we’re stopped by police, or by how we talk about it later, we’re teaching them.

And when we tell them not to drink or use drugs, while we brag about our youthful rebellion, we’re teaching them.

Consequently, we’re raising a generation of angry, disillusioned, entitled young people. Certainly, not all young people act or think that way, but far too many do. And we cannot, we must not think there will not continue to be a cost (Gal. 6.7-9).

Even if our children come to faith in Christ, like all sin, anger, disrespect, and the actions they provoke have consequences that God doesn’t always remove.

Life Is Not Always Fair

Life is not always fair.

There is social injustice. People can be rude and hateful. Some will have more than us materially. All of us will be mistreated and disrespected, at times.

Our children will have teachers who are less than perfect. They may encounter police officers who treat them rudely. They will have friends who betray them.

But … if we believe in the Sovereign God of the universe who sees all and is using all things for good to help us and our children become more like Christ (Rom. 8.28-29), we must teach them how to respond in godly ways and trust Him for the results.

To This You Were Called

The Apostle Peter told those who were persecuted and mistreated in the first century:

⁸ Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. ⁹ Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

¹³ Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, ¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil (1 Pet. 3 ESV).

Called to Live It Out

But that passage doesn’t just apply to those in the first century. We are called to live out the same principles.

That means we are to return evil with good and act out of love and with humility. And when we must disobey those in authority because of clear biblical commands, we need to do so respectfully. Most importantly, we need to point our children and others to Christ in the midst of trials, tribulations, and even mistreatment. We should not think it’s acceptable to go along with the crowd, to hang out with people who justify sinful behavior, and think our children aren’t watching and learning just like Jehoram.

If we won’t live out God’s commands, including Peter’s instructions (1 Pet. 3.8-17), and teach others to do the same, who will?

Today’s Other Readings:

Psalm 83.1-8:

Do Not Keep Silent, O God!

The psalmist said the enemies of God and His people have “lifted up their heads.” They have taken “crafty counsel against His people.” Quite a picture of our world today.

But the answer is in verse one. We must cry out to Him:

Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!

Proverbs 21.1:

The Sovereignty of God

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

What a beautiful reminder of God’s sovereignty! No matter who is president, no matter what party is in power, no matter what is popular, or what the media has to say about it, God still controls the world, including our nation and our government. As believers, that should give us great comfort.

Just as our children aren’t to blame others for their choices, we can’t blame those in authority over us either. We can’t excuse evil because it’s “legal” or because everyone else is doing it. We’re still responsible to speak the truth in love, vote biblically as best we can, and live righteously. We are to be faithful and leave the results in God’s hands.

Acts 17.16-34:

Some Will Mock, Some Will Put It Off, but Some Will Believe!

Sometimes we’re tempted to think that people today are so much harder to witness to—what with medical science, evolution, false religions, and other worldly philosophies. But when you read about Paul as he spoke to the philosophers and worldly people of his day, you realize as Solomon said, there is truly nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1.9).

So, no matter who we have the opportunity to share Christ with, we just need to speak the truth in love. It’s God who opens men’s and women’s hearts. Notice in today’s reading that some mocked him, and some said “I’ll think about it later,” but some believed (Acts 17.32-34).

What About You? Questions to Ponder or Journal:

Are there areas in your life where you know you’re compromising? Where could that off-ramp lead in your life and the lives of your children and others? Remember, “What you do in moderation, your children will often do to excess.”

Finally, if you have children, how are you doing when it comes to teaching them what God says about authority and understanding His sovereign work in each of our lives? 

Coming Up:

In the coming days, we’ll talk about giving and our hearts, how pride shows up in our lives, 10 secrets to finishing well, loving your enemies, what it means to be a contentious woman, and ask the question, “When the rapture comes, could you be left behind?

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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer. 

I recently read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)

I sometimes LINKUP with these blogs.

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer. 

A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)

I sometimes LINKUP with these blogs.