Only You--Gen. 34

"And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter; and he was more honourable than all the house of his father" (Gen. 34:19).

Parting ways from Esau, Jacob and his entourage find themselves in the land of the Shechemites.

We all know what happens here.

Dinah, the only daughter in the entire of Jacob's store of children, goes out to find friends among the heathen girls of the land and is seen by the prince of Shechem, consequently named Shechem.

What followed was a load of betrayal, sorrow, shame, misery, bloodshed, deceit and lawlessness.

The end of the story isn't pretty.

All the men of Shechem paid dearly for their prince's rash act. They paid with their lives.

And yet, verse 19 says that this young man was "more honourable than all the house of his father."

It's true that after the sin was committed that Shechem did love Dinah. He did. And he had every intention of marrying her.

But his rash, impulsive act caused not only his death, but that of all the other men in the city.

Your acts of rash impetuosity never affect only you.

You may be more honorable than all the house of your father: you may be upright, upstanding, a good example, a good Christian…

...and in a moment of thoughtlessness, impetuous decisions can bring that to ruin.

It doesn't matter what kind of decision it is.

It will never affect only you.

I want my heart to be upright and true. "More honourable than all the house of (my) father," as it were. I want to be seen as a true Christian, and to BE a true Christian.

But I pray, with all of this erring, weak, sin-sick heart, that my choices will be such that a good effect will ripple out to those it touches.

It will never affect only me.

And it will never affect only you.

Lord, help me to make choices that will honor You, and will elevate my character...not degrade it… Forgive me for the times in my life when my choices have been less than honorable. Save this weak child, I pray...