As a parent, I look for and thank God for all those "significant others" who are helping to shape the lives of my children. They need every positive influence possible: school teachers and principals, little league coaches, grandparents, neighbors, other parents, teenagers, church leaders. However, as hard as I attempt to keep my children away from the corrupt and vile influences of the world they are sure to find it, sometimes in places that I thought they were safe from it. Hannah must have been frustrated and disappointed with the priests of Shiloh, even Eli.
Eli loved God. He knew right from wrong. Eli knew what was good and holy. Eli understood righteousness. Yet he was passive. He allowed things to happen that he could have stopped. Regardless of whether there was a young boy attentive to his every need and decision, Eli should have done what was right concerning his sons, as difficult as it would have been. Look at the damage it was causing to the worshippers, to the women who were taken advantage of, the potential damage this behavior was causing to a young boy who desired to be a priest himself. Will God not hold us accountable for the lives we influence? Jesus' words were direct and strong:
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But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (
Matt. 18:6, NIV)
Whether we have children of our own or not, it is our responsibility to lead, guide, and direct the children of our church and the children of our community. Like Samuel who looked to Eli, the children around us look to us and often imitate our morals, our values, our commitment to God, and our commitment to the church. We must never doubt the influence we have on our children. Perhaps we all need to appeal to the grace of God because none of us can ever be all that our children need. We should be thankful that God is at work spiritually guiding our children. God uses us tremendously and when we fail, God does not cease His involvement.
If you know the story of Samuel, you know that Samuel turned out all right. In fact, he turned out more than all right. As you read about his life, you will be hard pressed to find anything negative about Samuel in the Bible. Eli must have done a good job then -- right? Eli did do a lot of good. It was Eli who directed young Samuel to respond to the voice of God. The well known third chapter of First Samuel records the story of young Samuel hearing the voice of God in the middle of the night. After three times of getting up, thinking the old priest was calling him, Eli tells young Samuel that perhaps the voice he hears is the voice of God and that if he hears the voice again to say, "Speak for your servant is listening."
Ironically, in the midst of Eli's passiveness about ignoring God's voice concerning the sins of his family, he helped young Samuel recognize the voice of God in his life. Even more ironic is that when Samuel listened to God's voice for the first time, it was a message of condemnation against Eli and his sons, a message that young Samuel reluctantly carried to the old priest.
Samuel did turn out all right, in spite of it all. Why? Because God was pursuing him. This gives me hope. It gives me hope because I know that as hard as I try there are times and days when I have not left the best impression on my children. I know there are times when the world is pushing hard upon them to corrupt them and lead them away from God. Through it all, I must pray and ask that God intervene. I must remember that my children are God's children and that God above loves them, seeks good things for them and is working on their behalf.
God pursued young Samuel. I pray that God will pursue my children, and yours, and the children of our community and world. I know my example is not enough. I know they have a will and a mind of their own and must make their own choices. I want to guide them, direct them, model for them the righteousness of God. God forbid that I should ever become a Hophni or a Phinehas. The greater temptation is that I should become an Eli -- a good man, one who loves God, but one who becomes passive in his relationship to God and allows what is easy and convenient to take the place of what is just and right.
If we are passive when it comes to our relationship with God, not only will we suffer but we may be leading some child, or teenager in the direction of sin. Jesus' warning is clear on this matter. Let us be thankful that the grace of God can fill in the gaps of our imperfect guidance of our children. Yet, let us also remember the Children's Crusade of the thirteenth century. May God give us the grace to be examples of faithfulness and fruitfulness to our children.
1Glenn Hinson. The Church Triumphant - A History of Christianity up to 1300. Macon, GA: Mercer Press, 1995, p. 390.
