Ezekiel 28:12
“Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.”
Many parents whose children have gone wayward wonder what they did to cause them to go to the world. They hear the excuses and blame of their children as to why they want nothing to do with Christianity. Sadly, many parents are brokenhearted because their children blame them for the way they were reared.
When looking at all the excuses of these children as to why they chose not to serve the LORD, I see from the verse above their excuses are empty. In verses 12-15, God described what He did for Lucifer, but with all that was given to him, he still chose to rebel against God. So, who do we blame for Lucifer’s rebellion, and what excuse does he have to throw back at God?
Did God not give him enough education? I think not! God said that he was “full of wisdom.” Could Lucifer blame his rebellion on God not giving him physical beauty? No! The verse above says that he was “perfect in beauty.” Were the surroundings of where he lived not good enough? No; because he lived in the “garden of God.” What was it that caused Lucifer to rebel against God? When you study these verses, you see that Lucifer was wealthy, talented, given position, and had the perfect heritage to which he could glean; yet, all of these things didn’t keep him from doing wrong. The excuse as to why Satan rebelled against God lies with Lucifer. It was his rebellious heart that caused him to turn against God.
Parents, you can do everything right, but it ultimately comes down to the heart of the individual. Every child has a choice, and they are the ones who chose to go the way of the world. Their excuses they use to blame you for why they don’t want to serve the LORD are empty. If they had what they said caused them not to serve the LORD, they would have found another reason to blame you because their heart is rebellious.
It is time that parents, pastors and ministry leaders stop trying to blame how children are reared in a strict atmosphere and start placing the blame on the rebellious heart. You can try to pamper the rebel, but pampering the rebel only feeds their rebellion. You can change what they said caused them to rebel, but you will still find that rebellion is in their heart. My friend, possessions, entertainment and money have never one time caused someone to do right and serve the LORD. The heart is the cause of rebellion or obedience; it all comes down to the heart of the individual and their choice of what they are going to do.
Let me encourage every parent, pastor and ministry leader to continue doing right. Lucifer had everything that rebels use as excuses as to why they chose not to serve the LORD, and he still rebelled against God. Stop trying to pamper the rebel, and start influencing the one who desires to do right. Stop giving all the attention to the one who has chosen the way of the world and start giving attention to the one who is doing right. Every effort you give to woo the rebel back is time you could have used to help influence the one who wants to do right. Certainly, every parent could have done something better, but the choice a person makes as to the way of life they are going to live is up to them. Don’t listen to their empty excuses, just keep doing right.