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By Rev Don Rivers
Recently the Patriarch of the Duck Commander family passed, Phil Robertson, at the age of 79. Known for his strong Christian beliefs and his outspoken refusal to compromise them, I asked myself if I make decisions based on what honors God. What do we consider when we take a stand in support of the things that honor God, who is number one in our lives? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Phil Robertson and the show Duck Dynasty were not ashamed of the Lord and the fact that He was a central figure in the way they lived. The A&E series allowed that to be on display each episode. With the popularity of the series came the microscope of public opinion and the social pressure to conform.
Phil never backed down, even when it meant he was banned from appearing in the episodes of the show. That was short lived as the fans demanded his return and A&E relented and reinstated him before any episodes were impacted. One thing that Phil Robertson taught us is that putting God first and honoring Him will lead you to a full and satisfying life.
The story reminded me of Hank Parker Jr. and the testimony he gave at an event I attended. As I listened it made me think about where I would draw the line. I hope that I could have the faith that he demonstrated when he had a decision to make. It is important the foundation we build our life on.
Hank Parker Jr. is not a household name because of what he was taught at home. His Father instilled in him Christian values that would serve him well when he had to make a difficult choice. His biography helps us understand how he honored God.
The Parkers are big on family, always have been. When Hank Jr. began racing in the Busch Series, he did so in a car fielded by his father. The team did the best it could through the 2000 season, and after that, Parker turned to a team co-owned by Frank Cicci and Scott Welliver. It was with them that he scored his two career victories, one each in 2001 and 2002.
Parker appeared headed for even bigger things. He made the lone Cup start of his career for Ray Evernham late in 2002, completing 389 of 393 laps at Rockingham and finishing 33rd. After that, he went to work on putting the final touches on the deal that would’ve put him in a Roush Racing Ford for the 2003 season.
Parker was testing a car that would have been his car at Daytona when word came down that the sponsor was going elsewhere. You see, Hank had made it clear that he would not drive a car with a certain sponsor on the hood, and they decided to go elsewhere. There were no other sponsors available and Parker was out, almost for good.
He drove just six Busch Series races in 2003, three of them in a Dale Earnhardt Inc. mount for his good friend Dale Jr. While Parker scored four top-10 finishes in those half-dozen races, he has just one other start in the series, at Nashville, for Roush in a fill-in deal for Edwards.
While turning down a certain chance at stardom on the Cup series might have deflated a lesser person, Parker was confident that moving away from racing was God’s plan for his life.
“Seeing how God is in control has been amazing,” Parker said. “There came a point in time in my career where I really just laid down my career and my life, and gave my life to Christ. God has changed so many things and my perspective on things.”
“I’m good … I’m content,” Parker said. “I actually had a phone call the other day to see if I’d come back, and I felt really good about saying no. … It was time to bow out. I feel like I gave it a good shot. I feel like I gave it my best. A lot about racing is timing. Obviously, there’s people that were better than I was, but I feel like I did the best that I could.”
He decided to honor God in his decisions and let his life be led by the values that he learned from his father. He knew that honoring God had to be number one priority in his life, if his life was to have any significance.
I am reminded of the nation of Israel and their journey in the Promised Land. The people that inherited the land had their faults but they were getting better. Some would say they learned from their forefather’s mistakes. That didn’t remain the case as we find out when we read in Jeremiah 7:26; (Amplified Bible), Yet the people would not listen to and obey Me or bend their ears [to Me], but stiffened their necks and behaved worse than their fathers.
If we stay the same and do not learn, we move away from God.
A father, out for a walk with his son, met an old friend he had not seen for years.
“Fine boy you have,” said the friend. “I hope he grows up to be as good a man as his dad.”
On the surface the compliment should encourage, but the father knew that his son needed to be more than that.
The father answered, “I would be ashamed of him if he does not become a much better man than his dad.”
Therein lies the secret, we need to spur our children on to a greater and deeper respect for God than we have. We need to help them understand the challenges we faced and help them learn from them.
The boy was amazed at his father’s choice of words, he looked up to his dad and thought he was the best man on earth. Then he began to realize the lessons he learned from his father. Many were because his father had experienced difficulties, made wrong choices. From those lessons his father showed him the right way to go.
He taught his son how to lead his life, because of the mistakes he made and the lessons he learned. He taught his son that he wasn’t the authority, he too answered to his Father in Heaven. He taught his son that in all things we need to prepare and run in such a way as to win. Each generation can improve on the succeeding one when they are taught to look to God and honor Him. God must be number one.
Matthew 22:34-40; NLT; But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
We should make every effort to honor God in the decisions we make. We should be ready to draw the line when we are asked to compromise our beliefs. We should teach our children that some things are not worth compromising our faith over. Let me encourage you to make every effort to honor God in everything you do, to put Him in the number one spot in our lives.
Run the race in such a way as to win, throw off everything that hinders and focus on Jesus. Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.
