10/17 Worse Than Your Fathers

Worse Than Your Fathers

Jeremiah 16:12
“And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:”

One of the greatest mistakes many people make when it comes to their weaknesses is thinking their weakness will not affect anyone else. There are many times we make decisions about what we want to do not realizing that our decisions may lead the next generation to the next level in that area.

God addressed this problem in the verse above. Notice the phrase, "And ye have done worse than your fathers..." As God laid the foundation for why He was going to judge this people, the one thing He brought to their attention was that they took the sins of their fathers to a new level. What their fathers had done in moderation, they were doing in excess.

This same philosophy is lived out today. This is why we must be careful about the decisions we make. We must always remember that, though we may never go into "deep" sin, the generation that follows us will take what we have done to a new level. We must be careful with every decision we make for there follows another generation who will take our weaknesses to another level.

Every pastor needs to be careful what he allows his church to do and in what direction he takes his church. Though some of the decisions pastors make may not be wrong, those decisions that skirt the line of wrong will lead the next generation to cross that line. In our music, we must be careful what we listen to because the generation to follow will take their music to a level to which we would not listen. Parents must be careful what they allow in their homes. Though what they do may not be bad, their children will likely go further than their parents would have been willing to go.

We must realize that the generation who follows us usually starts at our weakest level and proceeds from there. They usually go a level lower than where we are right now because what we do in moderation they will do in excess. Each of us needs to be very careful about the decisions we make and our actions. Let us remember that the next generation will take our weaknesses to another level.

Let's raise our standard of living instead of lowering our standard of living. Let's raise our spiritual expectations instead of lowering them. The next generation is watching us. Let's teach them to raise their standards instead of lowering their standards by showing them how we are raising our own standards.