In the Bible, the Old Testament records the story of King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a righteous king who led the people of Judah in the worship of the one and true God. His son Manasseh followed him as king but Manasseh led the people of Judah down the opposite road. He led them down a path of idol worship.
Manasseh reigned for 55 years. Most of that time, he led people away from God instead of towards Him. Toward the end of his reign, God allowed him to be captured by the Assyrians and taken captive into Babylon. While there, Manasseh repented and turned to God for help and salvation. God, in His mercy restored Manasseh as king of Judah. Manasseh then led the people in the worship of God. He destroyed many of the idols that had caused Israel to sin but he was not able to undo all of the damage he had done.
Manasseh was succeeded by his son Amon. Even though Amon would have had a front row seat to view the reforms and the repentance of his father, he chose to pattern his life after all the wrong things his father had done. The result was that Amon did not last long as king and was assassinated by his own officials.
Due to Amon's assassination, his son Josiah became king at an early age - 8 years old. He deliberately and intentionally chose to ignore the evil example of his father and instead conformed to the example of integrity and love for God that king David had shown. The result was that Josiah spent two years purifying the land of Judah by destroying every last remnant of idol worship. His public example of repentance and purification caused the people of Israel to follow in his footsteps. His actions ultimately delayed the pending punishment of sin that God had planned.
What do we learn from all this? How does it apply to our life? Most men end up becoming much like their fathers. Most women end up marrying a man who behaves just like their father. If you grew up without a father, you inevitably thought at some time that things would have been better if you had a father to teach you. You are positive that your life would have been better if he had been around. If you grew up with an alcoholic or abusive father you might have thought the opposite. Most likely, you probably turned out exactly like him - the footsteps you hoped to follow in or the man you swore that you would never become.
The truth is this. It doesn't matter who our father was. Their influence, or lack of influence, may have shaped us into the man that we became but we became who we are because of a deeper reason. The clue to this secret is found in the life of Josiah. He deliberately chose the example of king David instead of his father Amon. As a result of patterning his life after a righteous man, he ultimately became a righteous man. The key here is the "Heroes and Friends" factor. The people we chose to emulate in our life will determine who we will be. If we hang around friends that are shady, we will end up becoming shady. If we determine that the most influential man in our life is our father, we will become just like our father.
Colossians 3:2 tells us to "think on the things of heaven, not the things of earth". It is a matter of perspective. When we have something we focus on, then we will gravitate toward that goal. Obstacles in our way will not deter us or cause us to go off course. In Lord of the Rings, Frodo's goal was the mountain. That is what he was focused on. That is where his eyes continually went. Without that mountain in his sights, every time he came across a hill, ravine, river, tree bush or rock, his destination would have changed because his focus would have changed and his eyes would not have been on the goal. The heroes and friends in our life are our mountain. They are what we are focused on and their character will help determine the person that we are becoming.
Take a minute today and list the 3 most influential people in your life. These are your heroes - the people who hold your thoughts and your heart. Now list your top 5 friends.
* Next to each of these 8 people, use a single word to sum up their character.
Josiah - Purity (II Chronicles 34:3)
* Now use a single word to list the quality you admire most about them.
Josiah - Leadership (II Chronicles 34:31-32)
* Next, in 5 words or less, list their biggest fault.
Josiah - didn't finish strong (II Chronicles 35:22)
* Finally, there is a reason we include these people in our lives. it is because we know that we can depend on them to be there for us. In one sentence, list the one thing that you know you can always depend on them for.
Josiah - Willing to fight to annihilate the temptations in my life so that those temptations do not cause me to destroy myself. (II Chronicles 34:12-20)
Now assess each of these relationships in your life. Did you have trouble finding positive things to list? Are the qualities of your heroes and friends something that you really want to surround yourself with? Do you need to make some changes to the relationships you include in your life?
If you feel that you need to change some things, you have a couple of options. First, you could cut those relationships out of your life altogether. This might be difficult but it may be the best solution. Second, you can go to that person and talk about what you discovered. They may not like what they hear. They might react by counter attacking you and your weaknesses.
If you have decided that the people in your life contain the qualities that you desire to possess, congratulations! They might appreciate hearing it. Invite them to meet for coffee and tell them why you value their friendship and their relationship so much.
Regardless of what you decide, there is one relationship in your life that you cannot cut away. If you don't have it already, you need to seek it. It is a relationship with Jesus Christ. Just as Frodo had his mountain to keep him focused on his goal, we need Christ as ours. Jesus is the hero that we should strive to become - if you don't know how, find a Bible believing church in your area and talk to the pastor. I may not know that pastor personally but I know he would be happy to introduce you to the greatest hero of all - Jesus Christ.
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Kevin McCane - EzineArticles Expert Author
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