Generational Sin

Did you notice in today's reading that Isaac repeats the same sin his dad committed twice? Lying about his wife - saying she was his sister because he feared for his life. (Genesis 26:6 and following)

I work extensively with the Freedom in Christ resources (ficm.org) and in today's language what Isaac did would be called generational sin...sin that is passed down, or repeated from one generation to the next. Satan seems to be a very good record-keeper. He knows what sins caught one person and will use those very same temptations (maybe packaged a bit differently, but ultimately the same) with their children, grandchildren, etc.

Let me encourage you to spend time looking back at your parents' lives (and grandparents and great-grandparents if you knew them). Do you see sin, bad habits, etc in their lives that are showing up in your life or the lives of your kids?

Rage/anger is a generational sin that I have struggled to kill in my life. It was in my brother, mother, and grandfather (and while I didn't personally know generations beyond that, I wouldn't be surprised to learn it went back farther). When one of my kids was a lot younger, I was grieved to realize the rage/anger had transferred to the next generation. But through the painful battle God was taking me through to victory in my life, He was also training my hands for war to do battle for my young child. I talked often with my child about the generational sin so it could be recognized for what it was, but also explained to my child that ultimately the responsibility for dealing with the rage/anger was his/hers.

Don't brush sin, bad habits, etc off as "well that's just the way my family is." And please, please, please do not sit passively by and watch it be passed to your kids or grandkids. Victory can be yours! Christ died to set you free! "If you know the Truth, the Truth will set you free!"

If you would like to interact with me more about this, feel free to email me. I would be very happy to point you to resources that would be helpful.