Proverbs 17:2,25
2:He who becomes the parent of a fool [who is spiritually blind] does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool [who is spiritually blind] has no joy. 25: A foolish son is a grief and anguish to his father and bitterness to her who gave birth to him.
In 2 Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan confronts King David with his sin against Bathsheba and her husband Uriah. David was told that God would “stir up evil” against him from his own household. Years later one of David’s sons, Amnon, raped his half-sister, Tamar. We are told in 2 Samuel 13:21 that David heard about the incident, was angry, but did nothing about it. Tamar’s brother Absalom, finally took action into his own hands and two years later had Amnon killed. This set the stage for a coup against David by Absalom and chaos in the nation.
David was responsible for “setting the tone” in his household, and as the king, setting the tone in the kingdom. His sin against Bathsheba and Uriah and inaction against Amnon was the source of grief, despair, sorrow and chaos for him and his kingdom. As parents, we set the tone in our homes. Our children establish “normal” based on what we establish in the house, good or bad. We also set the tone in our workplace, schools, places of worship, wherever we go, because we have a sphere of influence. Our sphere of influence is directly and indirectly affected by our words, actions, habits and unfortunately our sins. We set the tone.
What attitudes do you bring home from work each day? What habits are common in your home? What would your children consider “normal” behavior in your home? Are any of the attitudes, language and habits godly? Do they promote wisdom in line with the Word of God…or foolishness in line with the world? In your sphere, what’s the tone? If there is chaos in your sphere, can it be traced back to you?
Make a decision each day to pursue a more godly life based on wisdom from the Lord. Don’t produce chaos in your sphere of influence. Remember, you set the tone.