All In the Family

Yesterday I posted about the man in Mark 9 whose son was demon-possessed. Today I would like to look at another aspect of that incident. At one point, the man asked Jesus to “have compassion on us.” He could have asked Jesus to have compassion on the young man who was possessed, but he made a point of asking for compassion for both of them. I think that it’s important to note that when a family member isn’t right, then it affects the entire family.

King David had a son named Absalom that he loved very much. Absalom was very self-willed, and at one point, tried to overthrow the kingdom, and make himself king of Israel. David sent his men out with orders to defeat Absalom, but not to kill him. The general over David’s army, Joab, had opportunity to take Absalom alive, but chose not to, in direct conflict with the king’s wishes. There is a certain wisdom in Joab’s actions, although I would not condone killing a man unnecessarily, I can understand that if Absalom had lived, he would have only continued to cause problems. Joab rebuked David (imagine that, being in position to disobey the king, kill one of the royal family, and then rebuke the king!) and reminded him that Absalom would have been only too happy to kill the king and every Israelite that was loyal to David. Joab, in effect, asked the king what he would have had Joab do, let Absalom run roughshod over everything else that the king held dear, just as long as Absalom lived?

In 1 Samuel, the priest Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, that he was supposed to bringing up to take over his job when he got too old to do it (or died), but they were rebellious and used their positions in the Temple to fill their own bellies. Granted, they were supposed to eat of the offerings that people brought, but they got tired of eating boiled meat, and started demanding meat that hadn’t been prepared in accordance with Temple Law. Eli knew what was going on, and he made some attempt to correct his sons, but they did what they wanted to do anyway. Eli took in Samuel, and raised him better than he had raised his own sons, and at one point, God told Samuel that He was displeased with Eli because of his sons. Eventually, God took Hophni and Phinehas, and, when Eli heard about it, he fell down, and broke his neck.

At the same time, in the gospels, we are told that when Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John, that they left their fathers with the fishing boats and just walked away and followed Jesus. I would imagine that they at least said good-bye, although the Bible doesn’t say that they did. These were men that knew the call of God, and were not about to let their families interfere with what they had to do (later on, we find out that Simon Peter was even married—presumably had kids; what do you suppose his wife thought about her husband wandering all around the country with Jesus for three years?). I’m sure it wasn’t easy for these men to live the lives that they did, and I suppose that their families understood; even the non-believers recognized that Jesus was very influential.

We are more fortunate. Most of us will never have to abandon our families for the Gospel, but all of us need to remember that family must always take second to God. Jesus said that he who loves father or mother or son or daughter more than Jesus, is not worthy (which is not to suggest that any of us is truly worthy anyway), and it is clear that He takes precedence over all else. If it helps, understand that He wants the absolute best for every one of us, so, by putting Him first, you are making things better for your family, as well.