Four Generations

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We must not hide them from their children, but must tell a future generation the praises of the Lord, His might, and the wonderful works He has performed…He commanded our fathers to teach to their children so that a future generation- children yet to be born-might know. They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God's works, but keep His commandments. – Psalm 78:4, 6-7 HCSB

There once was a good and moral man who lived an exemplary life. He had a son who watched and learned to imitate his righteous father. But the good man did not actually teach his son the basis of his lifestyle.

The son grew to adulthood, married, had a son and behaved well, just as his father did, but without fully understanding why he performed the good deeds. So his son, the grandson of the original good man, rebelled against what he perceived to be a simple-minded, uneducated faith.

When the grandson, in turn, became a parent, he chose to “not force religion upon” his children so they lived without even knowing what they were missing.

Four generations; four degrees of regression; four steps toward oblivion. Many today are members of that fourth generation. Three or four generations back, our American ancestors lived strong, moral lives. They followed Christ, attended church, rarely divorced, shunned substance abuse and stepped up when their country needed them to fight, even on foreign soil.

Yet unfortunately, they were the strong, silent type and did not teach their children why they should do these things. So the next generation attended church simply because it was the thing to do and got nothing out of it. They claimed to be Christians, but lacked the truth of real faith, being mere notionists, and thus, lacked the power required to overcome sin.

Their children observed the shallowness of their parents’ faith, and the hypocrisy that was inherent in the previous generation’s spiritual claims and so they rebelled in the 60s and 70s. By the 80s and 90s, Christianity had started down the path of the Dodo.

Many people practice the rituals of Christianity, but these habits are without impact. It has gotten to the point that to say you are a Christian is meaningless. It’s like saying “I’m an American” or “I consider myself to be a good, moral person.” Christianity no longer means discipleship to Jesus Christ. It no longer makes any requirements of its adherents.[1] The worst part, however, is that most don’t even realize what they’re missing.

We need to wipe the slate clean and start over. We need to go back to the Word, forget everything we think we know and begin at the very beginning: “In the beginning God created…”[2] We need to consider God[3] in all His glory and fear Him.[4] We need to set aside our so-called wisdom and sit at His feet again. Then we need to teach our children what we have discovered.[5]

[1] Luke 14:26-33
[2] Genesis 1:1
[3] 1 Chronicles 16:11; 2 Chronicles 22:19; Psalm 105:4; Isaiah 26:8; 51:1; Hosea 10:12; Joel 2:12-13; Amos 5:4-8, 14; Zephaniah 2:3; Hebrews 11:6; James 4:8; Revelation 22:17
[4] Leviticus 19:14, 32; 25:36, 43; Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20; 13:4; 28:58-59; Joshua 24:14; 1 Samuel 12:24; 2 Kings 17:36; 1 Chronicles 16:30; 2 Chronicles 19:7,9; Nehemiah 5:9; Job 28:28; Psalm 2:11; 19:9; 23:23; 34:9; 96:4; 110:10; Proverbs 1:7; 3:7; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:27; 15:33; 16:6; 19:23; 23:17; Jeremiah 32:39-40; Revelation 14:7
[5] Genesis 17:9; Deuteronomy 6:6-8; 11:19-20; 31:12-13; Joshua 8:35; Psalm 78:1-8