By David ReayFriday 9 Dec 2022LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
“‘What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the child pay for the parent’s sins?’ No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live. The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness. (NLT)
The Bible tells us that the sins of the fathers are visited upon future generations. It also tells us each individual is accountable for his or her wrongdoing. We best understand this as expressing a balance. On the one hand, what our parents do or don’t do casts a shadow over the children. On the other hand, the children can’t simply blame the parents for their own actions or inaction.
We are the products of those who loved us or who failed to love us. We are shaped by our childhoods. Then again, we forge our own path in life and can’t blame our upbringing for all our ills. This means children don’t just see themselves as helpless victims of their past or present environment. Nor are their lives free of the dimensions of their earlier nurture.
Parents have shaped their children but cannot control them. They take some responsibility for them, but not total responsibility for them once they have grown up. They cannot wipe their hands of them, they cannot clutch them in those same hands. This seems to reflect the biblical balance on the relationship between the generations.
Children have the challenging task of honouring parents without being dominated by them. Parents have the equally challenging task of learning that love means letting go. That their love will maintain connection without weaving a web of control.
Blessings
David