"You're JUST like your father!" How many of you guys have ever heard that proclaimed over you?
It's not always a bad thing. Some guys would love to be just like their fathers. I'm afraid however, that this decree is usually offered as a pejorative.
What I'm concerned with today is sinful traits of fathers. Many men believe in what some call 'generational sin' - the idea that if a father is involved in some kind of sinful practice or addiction, their son (or daughter) will probably practice that same sin.
The passage that most will cite to prove this is Exodus 20:5 - "For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation of those that hate me, and showing mercy to thousands of those that love Me and keep My commandments."
The first thing I want to mention is that all of this is couched in the Old Testament. Since Jesus, the entire play book has changed.
But just to cut to the chase here, what this verse is really saying is exactly what it DOES say... that if a father sins, God will punish the children for their sins three and four generations down the line. It doesn't say the children will inherit their father's sinful tendencies. It says they will be punished for what their fathers did that was wrong in the sight of God.
So, it's a warning to fathers to think about what they do, because their children, their children and even their children's children could be punished for their sinful behavior.
That's a sobering thought.
But here's the good news! God rescinded that decree later in the book of Ezekiel - "The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself" (Ezekiel 18:20).
So, where does that leave us with the idea that if your father sins, you'll probably be the same way? Well, we all have tendencies to be like our parents in certain ways. Like, a sibling will say, "You said that just like Dad," or, "Dad used to get that same expression on his face."
And it's true that certain tendencies can be genetic and a person will need to be careful about certain behaviors. But overall, there is nothing in scripture that says, if your dad sinned a certain way, you will too!
"Well, Dad had an affair, so I guess that explains why I had one too." "Dad was a drunk, so I guess that explains why I am too."
On and on the excuses go. But bottom line, our behavior is our own. And each of us will have to answer for it as individuals.
Today, my prayer is that everyone reading this will realize that they don't have to follow any of the poor behavior their father may have engaged in. Each of us has the power through God's grace to resist any weakness we may have in our character.
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it" (I Corinthians 10:13 - NIV).
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