Rev. George Ellis
Pastor’s Corner
Alyson Kieda wrote this devotional: “David’s first beating came at the hands of his father on his seventh birthday, after he accidentally broke a window.
“He kicked me and punched me,” David said. “Afterward, he apologized. He was an abusive alcoholic, and it’s a cycle I’m doing my best to end now.”
She said, “But it took a long time for David to get to this point. He said, “when I get up in the morning, the first thing I tell God is that I’m surrendering my will over to Him.”
Community, today we celebrate the fact, that in each and every one of our lives God can break the cycle; we are not what the devil says we are; our past do not define us; bad habits do not have a hold over us; and we do not have to be crippled by mistakes of the past, present and future; good news this morning … we can break the cycle.
David, the young man who I mentioned earlier, was a prime candidate to follow in his father’s footsteps of abuse; a cycle perhaps that his father inherited; and they tell us that bad behavior is hereditary, that it is passed on from one generation to another down to us; that we are destined to be what our parents were; that because “Papa was a rolling stone; that wherever he laid his hat was his home,” that we will be the same way.
But right off today, I want to say that the devil is a liar, and the truth is not in him! I don’t buy that; he can’t sell that to me! my father may have been an abuser, a womanizer, an alcoholic, a drug addict; my mother may have been a lady of the night; a heroin addict and a woman who suffers domestic abuse from her husband or boyfriend; we don’t have to follow that cycle! That’s a lie from the pits of hell.
In Christ and with Christ I can break the cycle; I can determine that drugs, alcohol and assaulting my wife or children will not be a part of my life; don’t care what my daddy did; I can be drug free, become somebody, live a productive life and treat my wife with respect!
I can determine ladies, that I will not destroy my life with heroin, won’t be a night lady for no man; and I won’t be a punching bag for nobody because that’s not the way God meant for me to be despite what my momma did; “I’m breaking the cycle!”
Folks, we can break the cycle!
If momma and daddy was a hypocrite; one foot in the church and one foot in the world, I don’t have to walk in that cycle; can I be honest this morning? some families have a bad name; but it is so refreshing to see one of the family members break from the pack and become a positive influence and lives a productive life; they break the cycle; to folk wherever you are this morning; don’t let nobody label you; tell you that because of your last name you will be a certain way; or because you were born in the projects, a trailer park or the south side of town that you will not be productive.
You ought to declare, “I am what God says I am; I will be what God says I can be; and I can do what God says I can do! Regardless to what my last name is or where I was born!
Break the cycle.
In the Bible there is proof that just because the father is bad and cursed; the son didn’t follow their footsteps; Amon the king did evil (2 Kings 21:19,20); but his son Josiah broke the cycle and did that which was right (2 Kings 22:1,2). King Ahaz did that which was evil (2 Kings 16:3,4); but his son Hezekiah broke that cycle and did that which was right (2 Kings 16:1-3).
The young people that are just like the David I just talked about need for somebody to tell them that they can “break the cycle.” That they don’t have to be in and out of jail; that packing a gun and killing one another is nothing but a cycle; instead of judging them and talking about how bad they are, somebody need to tell them that bad behavior is just a cycle that can be broken.
The Apostle Paul is a perfect example of one who broke the cycle; he had a history of persecuting the Jewish Christians; he had an intense hatred for these new Christians and hauled them off to jail; but one day while on his way to arrest Christians, Christ arrested him (Acts 9:1-6).
Community, hear me when I say, don’t let nobody hold your past over your head; if you are in Christ, I don’t care what you have done … OLD things are passed away, and ALL things are brand new (2 Cor. 5:17).”
Community, we can be the one who break the cycle; in fact, we ought to be cycle breakers. As new creatures in Christ we can show the world by our actions that certain practices are wrong and show them how to do it the right way; Men, our fathers may not have been involved in our lives; but we can “break the cycle” and be involved in our children’s lives and be the father we need to be.
Community, because of Calvary, old things are passed away; all things are new. We can “break the cycle.”
The Rev. George Ellis is the pastor for Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church.
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