JULY 25 "WHAT'S WRONG WITH SWEET 'OL GRANNY?"

What’s going on with Granny setting up obscene poles that Asa has to cut down and destroy. Question we should ask ourselves is….does becoming old make us naturally virtuous? Does becoming old make us honest, pure and decent people? Is it a staple for grandmother’s and grandfathers to be human beings that are pretty much angelic & sweet? Or are they simply human beings, like you and I; that have aged in their sin, not grown out of it. No doubt, I hope grandpa has grown out of smoking weed and grandma has grown out of dressing to seduce men, but that doesn’t mean that they have metamorphosed into some saint like character. Perhaps some of the surface sins have diminished, but the deeper sins are entrenched. Hatred and bitterness are as strong as ever. I have seen old, nice grandma’s pouring gasoline on the fire of bitterness that has kept the family divided for years, even right up until their death. I have seen old people, right before their death getting vengeance on their families through their Last Testament & Wills.  I have seen men, that once were handsome, winsome, perverted groping youth, making girls blush, but now that same spirit, in that same man, who doesn’t have the handsome, winsome personality to go with it, repels and disgusts the woman who have to work with this “old pervert” in the nursing home.  With all that Asa has to deal with, you’d figure the last person he would have to add to that list, is his own sweet grandma. We read about Gideon having to take care of some house cleaning in his day and who does God mention to him that he is going to have to deal with….his Father! Gideon’s father has also set up, ungodly shrines that God tells Gideon he’s going to have to bring down and destroy. This frightens Gideon and I’m sure this frightened Asa as well. I’m sure grandma was not one to be reckoned with. I’m sure there was going to be family backlash for both Asa & Gideon for “messing with the family”.  Gideon and Asa I’m sure were assaulted for their stance, the family would come against them saying things such as, “some things you just look the other way at, you’re going to disrespect your grandma, you’re going to disrespect your father like that! Is that what they teach you at your church, is that what you call a Christian? Doesn’t the bible say, to honor your father and mother! Is that what you call honoring your father and mother, making a humiliation of your grandmother, for God’s sake, boy, what’s wrong with you!”. That would be when Asa, Gideon, or yourself, walk away wondering if you really heard from God. We’ve all been there; we’ve all had to do the hard things that brought us much reproach from our families. If it is not hard enough just trying to live for God, live clean and do right; often God also throws into the mix, dealing with family strongholds; and sometimes we feel like that’s more than we can handle. A lot of times it can be a family member with a lot of clout and influence in the family, other times it’s an ungodly, tradition that has been held in the family for years and now God has raised you up, to bring it down and we say, “I can’t, who am I, find somebody else, they will kill me, they will laugh me out of the family, kick me out of the family…etc…etc..”   And you know what; some of those statements are not so far off from the truth. Many Christians have been banished from their families for standing against grandma or grandpa, mom or dad. You may feel like you’re not “the one”, just like Gideon, “I am the least in my family” but you’re exactly the one God has called and sometimes we must do the hard thing, for the benefit of others and future generations to come.