2 Chronicles 33:22
“But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as
did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images
which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;”
The verse above is a sad commentary of Amon. Amon chose to follow
the wrong example that his father set in sacrificing to carved images.
This wasn't the only example that Amon had to follow because Manasseh
got right with God and removed the strange gods and idols out of the
temple. Amon saw what the LORD did to his father when he sacrificed to
the false gods, and he also saw how God was intreated for his father
after his prayer of repentance. Sadly, instead of choosing the right
positions and actions of his father, he chose to follow the wrong
example of his father’s weakness.
Oftentimes, I find that Christian choose to follow the wrong
example of their parents or Christian leaders from the past. Instead of
choosing to follow their strengths, we tend to gravitate towards their
weaknesses to our own detriment. The difference between those we follow
and ourselves is that we have a whole life to examine and to see which
side the LORD blessed. We have no excuse when we choose to follow the
weaker side of someone’s life, and God will judge us accordingly. There
are several principles that we can learn from Amon’s life that we should
apply to our own lives.
First, always choose the stronger positions of those we choose to
copy. Preachers make the mistake of choosing the weaker positions of men
of God from the past instead of choosing their strongest positions.
Children will oftentimes choose to follow the weakest part of their
parent’s lives instead of choosing to follow their stronger positions.
You must remember that people do grow, and just because they held a
weaker position at some point in their lives doesn't make it right for
you to follow their weaker positions or actions. Always choose the
strongest position a person held when choosing to follow their example.
Second, God holds you to a greater standard because you know
better. God held Belshazzar to a greater standard because he saw both
the weak and strong side of his father, Nebuchadnezzar. God held
Chorazin and Bethsaida to a higher standard because they saw the works
of God, whereas Tyre and Sidon had not. God will hold you to a higher
standard of accountability when you know better. You can justify
choosing the weaker stance of those you follow, but God doesn't justify
your choice of a weaker stance because He knows that you know better.
God always punishes the nation or individual who knows better more than
He does the ones who didn't have the examples that you have to follow.