SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 16
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
But Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinned more than all those before him. [1 Kings 16:25] Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. [1 Kings 16:30] It seems that each subsequent generation increases the pattern set by their parents. When we compromise in character to some degree, our children will always take it farther. There seems to be a downward pull of sin and immorality.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. [Matthew 23:15] Jesus notes this downward spiral as well, when He challenges the Pharisees. Their converts become twice as bad as them.

This is important! It shows us the covenantal nature of both the blessing and the curse. We are in relationship to each other, and what we do impacts those under our care. Our choices as parents, or leaders, have a powerful impact on those under our responsibility. Sin is like a virus. It starts with one person, but it multiplies, and things get worse, and more are infected, and soon a whole generation is affected.

But I wonder. Does goodness have the same, and opposite effect? Can goodness be like a positive virus, blessing more and more people? I think the answer is both YES and NO, and YES again. The first YES is that, in general people are positively affected by others good deeds. But, the NO is that, because we live in a sin-twisted world, evil has a more powerful influence. There is a downward pull on all of us, one that overcomes the positive drag of goodness. Goodness may change things for a short time (like King Asa’s reforms), but the downward pull of sin is stronger.

Which leads to the second YES, and the final YES. If it was just a battle between evil and goodness; evil would win. But it is a battle between evil and God. Our good deeds cannot change the world, but add to them God’s power, God’s purpose, and goodness will triumph. Evil keeps on winning over goodness (the story of the OT), until Jesus (God with us) enters the picture. He overcomes evil, defeats the devil. Now because of God, because of Jesus, we can be confident that our good deeds are not in vain. Sin may abound, but grace abounds all the more. And ultimately God – good – win!

PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for this confidence. No matter how bad things get in this sin-twisted world, good will always triumph in the end!