I Kings 15:11 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father.
I am always the last one to know when my kids are imitating me. I have found this to be true with other parents as well. Oftentimes we see behaviors or words in the lives in our kids and wonder, “Where are they getting this?” only to find out to our surprise, they are copying us. That is just the way of life. That is the way the world works.
I Kings 15 is all about fathers and sons, kings and the kings they raise. For instance, the Bible says, “Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father.” Now David was his ancestor. In contrast, the Bible talks about the sin of Jeroboam. Jeroboam’s sin was to use religion for his own ends and to change the place and form of worship of Jehovah into a form of idolatry.
Many a chapter about many a king begins with the refrain “and he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.” Over and again this is said. What you find is that over and again a king dies and a son reigned in his stead. There is this circuit. A king lives, he dies, and his son reigns in his stead.
In some cases the kings would do that which was right as did David, and in some cases they would do wrong as did Jeroboam. This presents a question each of us, especially those of us who are parents, should consider. What are you doing today that will be worth perpetuating tomorrow?
Your children will answer that question. If your child walks in the way of his mother, walks in the way of her father, walks after their parents, will that be a good thing or a bad thing? All it takes for good to spread or for evil to prosper is an example that has time to ripen and to grow.
So, what are you doing today that is worth perpetuating tomorrow? That is a question our children will answer when we are gone, but one we should be working on while we live.