Proverbial Wisdom – 3:1-6

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:1-6 (KJV)

Dear Friends, I apologize for the tardiness of this week’s lesson. This has been a difficult week for me. First, I had a toothache and as a result, I found myself sitting in a dentist chair. Then Thursday, September 22, was the anniversary of my first husband’s death.

It has been eight years since my husband’s death, but it was such a life-changing event that I will never forget the details of that horrible day. Although I will never forget my husband, I did learn how to adjust to the change, continue forward with my life, and wait patiently upon God. I am still waiting to discover all the wonderful plans that God has in store for my future.

God has a good plan for all of His children. He sees into our hearts—He sees our strengths and He sees our weaknesses. The astounding part is that God loves us in spite of all of our weaknesses!

Life-changing events can transform our weaknesses into strengths. When we are suddenly plunged into the angry waves of despair, from a sickness or death of a loved one or maybe even from our own sickness, we may flounder around for a bit, barely keeping our heads above water. However, while we are floundering in despair, we gently hear God calling, “Hang on My child. Hold tight to My hand and I will lead you out.”

After floundering for a bit, I hope that we wise up, reach out, and take hold of God’s outstretched hand. I know I had to.

There was no way that I could make it through the valley of death without God. I surrendered myself to God, I rehearsed His Word (Bible) in my mind, and I held tight to my faith in Him. God did not disappoint me.

God was my strength while I underwent a painful transformation process. Through my faith in Him, I survived my walk through the valley of death. It was in that valley of death that some of my weaknesses were transformed into my strengths. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalms 23:4).

Unfortunately, many times we have to undergo painful trials before we willingly surrender ourselves to God’s transforming hand. It is in the midst of those trials that we finally begin to understand and appreciate God’s faithfulness.   

All of us will go through life-changing events at some point in time. Some of those events will be good and some of those events will be bad. Nevertheless, by faith we can victoriously endure all life-changing events IF we depend on God. God is working on our behalf to transform us into pure, strong, holy vessels. “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives” (Psalms 37:23, NLT).

If you are personally going through a life-changing event, perhaps God is birthing a new ministry within you. God may be transforming some of your weaknesses into strengths so He can use you to help His children. Therefore, while you are going through the transformation process, do not become overwhelmed. Instead, look at the process as an exercise in your faith. By faith, you know that God is right there beside you, lovingly planning every detail of your transformation.

But while you are being transformed, make sure that you follow ALL of God’s commands. God’s Word promises that if you remember His laws and obey His commands, you will have length added to your days and peace added to your life (verses 1 and 2). But you can’t stop there!

Your outward behavior must reflect God’s mercy and God’s truth (verse 3 – “bind them about thy neck”). The only way that you can outwardly reflect mercy and truth, is to have these same principles written internally within your heart (“write them upon the table of thine heart”). Therefore, let mercy and truth rule your days, both in your heart and in your behavior. When you do this, you will find favor and understanding in the sight of God (verse 4).

Finding favor with God is my goal. More than anything, I want to hear God say, “Well done My good and faithful child.”

In this life, you will go through many spiritual battles. You may not see your attacker and you may not understand your attacker’s strategy. However, you can still be victorious when you learn to trust in God, lean on Him, and acknowledge Him as your sole source of strength. God will protect you through the battles and after they are complete, you will have been transformed.

…Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6:32-34 (NLT)

Three Key Concepts:

1.  Life-changing events can be the beginning of a spiritual transformation.

2.  God will sustain you through all life-changing events.

3.  God knows what you need and He will provide all that you need.

A Cursed Legacy

The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Numbers 14:18

This week, an insightful reader left a comment on my face book page about last week’s blog. She said that some young parents, as a token of their love, have their children’s names tattooed on their bodies. However, she suggested that instead having themselves tattooed, these young parents should show their love for their children by taking them to church.

I wholeheartedly agree. Real love is not about permanently inking a child’s name on your body. Tattoos are only skin-deep (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun). True, long-lasting love is better served through permanently inking a life-saving relationship with Jesus Christ on your child’s heart.   

However, this week’s lesson is not about tattoos or even the church. It is about cursed legacies, or generational curses that sometimes we unintentionally pass onto our children.

Most parents don’t intend to harm their children—that is the furthest thing from their minds. Unfortunately, whether they intend to or not, parents can harm their children through wrong life choices. Wrong words and actions can corrupt an innocent child (Galatians 5:9).

When parents are addicted to immoral behaviors, their children suffer. For example, an alcoholic may turn violent and begin verbally or even physically abusing an innocent child. Or money that’s setback for food and clothing is wasted by the drug addict. A child trapped in that type of environment can eventually view this as normal behavior; and as such, that child has a greater likelihood of becoming addicted to drugs or alcohol. This is a generational curse.

But there are other types of destructive behaviors that plague many families. Sometimes completely oblivious to the possible ramifications, parents engage in behaviors that adversely affect their children.

Take for instance, a parent who constantly lies. In time, the children of that parent believe that lying is okay and they begin to accept it as normal behavior. This is another cursed legacy.  “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all Liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8, KJV, emphasis mine).

Perhaps you say, “That’s not me…I would never lie.” So let’s look at another example. Do you fault, criticize, or make jokes about your parents or in-laws?  Maybe it’s your mother-in-law or your father-in-law that you like to drag through the mud. Be warned! Inadvertently, you may be passing down a generational curse. Through your own disrespectful words, your child thinks that it’s okay to belittle older generations.  “Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you…” (Deuteronomy 5:16, NLT).

Then there are times that you may be tempted to go on faultfinding missions, talking about someone behind his or her back. That can be another cursed legacy. Children, though they may be small, they have big ears. What type of disease are you sowing into their little souls? “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and Gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning…” (Romans 1:29-30, NLT, emphasis mine).

I know that I am throwing some hard punches today, but it’s only because I love you. You and I have to wise up so that we can clean up (notice I included myself in that statement). Yes, I too am guilty of some of this junk.   

Since some of these topics may be hitting too close to home, let’s wrap it up with one last curse, “Truth in living.”  This is a hard one so I am glad that I am not standing in front of you right now.

What type of legacy are you leaving to your children when they hear you speaking “Christianese” while you are in church, but when they see you at home, you do not live the Christian walk? In other words, you may say that you believe the Bible is the Word of God, but your children never see you open the pages of the Bible. Or you may behave one way when you are at church, but at home you curse, scream, and say all sorts of ugly things. A hypocritical religious spirit often leaves lifelong ink stains on a child’s soul. Those stains can be hard to remove.

Okay, I am done slinging dirt so now let me help you dust off. You cannot change your past—what has been done, has been done. But your future can change.  

God is mightier than every “Generational Curse.”  Whether the curse was handed down to you or whether you have handed it down to your own children…God is still mightier. In John 10:10, Jesus said that the thief (Satan) came to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came so that you can have life…life more abundantly. Through His blood, you and your family can be whole. God is merciful and He forgives when you repent. Not only does He forgive, but He also heals (2 Chronicles 7:14).  

Starting today, begin sowing a new legacy for your children. Ink the Word of God upon their little hearts, minds, and souls.

…for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20:5-6(KJV)

Three Key Concepts:

1.  We can leave our children a cursed legacy through our own words and actions.

2.  God is mightier than all generational curses.

3.  God is merciful and He forgives us when we repent.