All In The Family

He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. (2 Chronicles 15:16)

The powerful influence of a family idolater is revealed when that person holds great power over the all in the family. King Asa fired his mother…or grandmother…from being Queen Mother because of her idolatry. That's something you don't see everyday.  When we discipline our families, much less our elders, it is a rare reformation when it comes to spiritual things.  But here is where idolatry is the most firmly rooted.  Here we find the entrenched generational strongholds…where false worship is passed down to succeeding generations. Often in families, it is most difficult for a family member to see or hear the truth when exposing or being exposed to the error of traditional family worship. Tradition seems prone to trump the truth at the family altar.  For Asa, he must have found that it is harder to do something about it once truth is embraced. The easy thing is to overlook it...especially in the family.  To break away from a wicked family influence takes a lot of courage. It must be God at work. God exercises His authority in worship. Therefore, He used the king to restore true worship. Yet some things didn’t get done. Some things still wait to be completed. Kings come and kings go. So we wait on the Lord Himself to completely purge the land from idolatrous worship. And He will. Take courage and remove the wicked influence and the wicked influencers from their place of influence. Perhaps it is most prominent in your own family.  Take heart, a restoration of right worship sets all things right. Is the Lord all in all in your family? Begin with your own heart.  Are you true in the worship of God in your life?  Is there truly no other God but God? Before we can take action against the idolatry we see in others, especially family, we must have a heart to worship the Most High God.  We must be faithful in our worship to God.  It is here that godly worship has its most powerful influence to overcome wicked worship.  The key to generational godly influence throughout the generations is found all in the family when God alone is truly worshipped.