Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the father’s sin to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.     Exodus 20:4-6 HCSB

This Scripture passage comes from the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments is like God’s policy manual for Christians. It tells us what we should not do. Our pastor often says that when God says, “Thou shalt not…”, He is telling us is, “Don’t hurt yourself.” Sin is harmful to our well-being. Just as a parent doesn’t want to see their child touch a hot stove, God doesn’t want to see us get into sin that He knows will destroy us.

Now the Ten Commandments were written by God’s own hand in stone. The first time God gave them to Moses, they were destroyed when Moses became angry with the Israelites and their sinful behavior (Exodus 32). But, God called Moses back up to Him. He commanded Moses to bring two stone tablets just like the ones that were broken and God wrote them for him, again (Exodus 34). Again, in Deuteronomy before they are about to enter the Promised Land, Moses goes over the Ten Commandments with them.

Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments in Matthew 22:37-39  by saying that the greatest commandment is that we love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul and all our might. He said that the second was like it in that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves. If we do these two things, we will keep the Ten Commandments and will not want to violate any of them.

So, we know how important the Ten Commandments are, but I want you to look at our Scripture passage again. It talks about children being punished for the sins of their fathers to the third and fourth generations. When I first read that, I thought, “Why would a loving God hold children accountable for their father’s sins?” Well, here’s the thing, our children tend to do what we do. If we model sinful behavior, they too will exhibit sinful behavior. They are not being punished for their father’s sin, they are repeating their father’s sinful behavior and being punished for their own sin.

Holly Lebowitz Rossi posted an article in Parents.com in which she quoted Dr. John Spangler as saying that children whose parents smoke are 3.2 times more likely to smoke. Dr. Spangler went on to say that he could not determine whether it was a predisposition to risk taking behavior, a genetic disposition toward experimentation with dangerous substances or a genetic predisposition to the nicotine itself.

Our behavior, good or bad is passed down to our children and our children’s children.  I think about my mom. She was the granddaughter of a Baptist preacher. He was the first pastor at the church she has attended her entire life. My mom grew up in church and she raised us in church. She modelled Christian behavior for us throughout her entire life. She showed us up close and personal what it looked like to love and serve the Lord through her lifetime.

My paternal grandmother left a legacy of loving and serving the Lord.  She raised her children in church and taught them the importance of loving and serving the Lord. She modelled this behavior for her grandchildren. Her daughter did the same for her children. I ran into her daughter’s granddaughter a couple years ago at a church event. She too is loving and serving the Lord, as is her sister who visits our church from time to time and attends another church nearby. This is the fourth generation of young women loving and serving the Lord. I’m sure if I dug through her family history it goes back for many generations.

You are going to leave a legacy whether it is good or bad? Will your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren be blessed through the generations because you showed them how to love and serve the Lord? Or will they be punished for continuing the sin that they learned from you? Think about the legacy you are leaving for your children. Think about the impact that it has on them eternally and the generations coming behind them. What you are doing now is being watched by your children. What they do will be watched by your grandchildren and on down the line. Why not start today modelling Christian behavior for your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and anyone else who is watching? Why not get involved in the church and show them the peace and joy that is found in loving and serving the Lord?

Have a great day!