‘The Lord is slow to
anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.
But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their
children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth
generations.’ Numbers 14:18
DNA is hardly refutable.
From color of our hair, skin, and so many other physical
characteristics, to mannerisms, voice, and aging, we pass-along who we are. The other day I leaned over to my bride and said: When did we become
our parents? During
the time when our children were teens, I would make a call to the house to talk
with Elizabeth. If Jennifer (our oldest)
would answer, for the better part of a ten minute conversation I’d have no clue
that the voice belonged to our child, not her mother. That is well-documented stuff, and palatable (on
the positive side); it sometimes even makes us laugh.
What’s not so clear (nor palatable) is the Scripture
verse. Having the children, grandchildren,
and even great-grandchildren pay for
the sins of the parent, seems more than a little unfair! The picture of a child, constructed entirely of
pieces of the parent is a chilling reminder of the responsibility we bear as
parents, to instill the best of what God gives us in our children.
And it’s not just what we do, but how it is done. The
old adage is just as chilling: Children learn what they live with. Our poor behavior can tip the scales in the
opposite direction of what we intended. Another
old saying comes to mind here: Do what I say, not what I do. Truth be told, that threadbare dog will not
hunt. Your children are much more apt to
do what you do, than what you tell them.
The suspicion that the Scripture is slanted towards
being “unfair” is nonetheless true. It
is so with everything in the natural realm.
A stone tossed in a lake will make ripples that never end. A tree falling in a forest makes a thud that
vibrates. All actions have corresponding
and equal reactions. And, if you jump
out of an airplane at 10,000 feet without a parachute, the gravity of the situation
will become clear (and painful).
Just as clear, and much more palatable, is the other
side of that coin. If slipping into
untoward behavior (sin), is damning to your children, grands, and more, then
the opposite (repentance and obedience) can be just as healing. And there is only one obstacle standing
between the parent who has behaved poorly, and beginning the healing process
for the offspring: the parent’s pride.
The greatest example of this paradigm is King
David. David’s self-absorbed behavior
with Bathsheba, including lust, adultery (bordering on rape), conspiracy, and
the cover-up that took integrity apart in his soul, nearly destroyed not only
his kingdom, but (more importantly) his relationship with God. When the prophet, Nathan, finally unearthed what
David had tried to bury, the king broke, and confessed openly. The damage to David’s children was severe –
they were following in his footsteps…pieces of the parent. But his transparent confession became his
legacy.
For You Today
Let’s let apostle
Paul have the last word today about a life principle that will always be the
higher ground for parenting and living a purposful, holy life:
And now, dear
brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and
honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things
that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8
There
are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library. To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some
of these:
Mary's Confusion and How Was Your Weekend?
[1] Images: via Reddit.com (copyright restrictions unknown) Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
