Day 79: 1 Samuel 1-3

Eli was a servant of God...a priest. He had two sons, Hophni & Phinehas, who also served as priests. These sons of Eli were pretty bad:

Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the LORD. (2:12)

Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. (2:22)

I can't help but think about all the bad press the Catholic church has gotten in recent years because of all the abuse and cover ups that have been going on. However, the other thing that I can't help but consider is the duty of parents to raise their kids in the Lord. Somehow, even though Eli was a man of God and apparently served faithfully, that dedication wasn't passed on to his sons. But it's really even more than that. The truth is that sons (and daughters) make their own choices. As parents we do the best we can but ultimately the choice is theirs. The real problem here is that Eli knew his sons were "scoundrels" but he didn't do anything about it. He allowed them to continue to "serve" even though he knew what was going on. For this, God holds Eli responsible:

Why do you honor your sons more than me? (2:29)

I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. (3:13)

The 2:29 verse really jumped out at me. "Why do you honor your sons more than me?" That's really what it comes down to, isn't it?

What, or who, do I honor more than God?