Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
—Deuteronomy 7:9
All people want to leave a legacy—something good they will be remembered for when they are gone. In biblical times, and often today, much of that legacy is wrapped up in our children. Even if you don’t have biological children, you can and will leave legacies to adopted children, stepchildren, grandchildren or nieces and nephews. Some of that legacy may be physical, such as talents and characteristics you pass down. Some may be emotional, such as your mannerisms. The most important part of your legacy though, will be spiritual.
God makes clear in the Old Testament that He blesses the generations who love Him but curses those who curse Him. Because of Jesus’ new covenant, this no longer means that children can be punished for their parents’ sins. However, it means that sin, if allowed to go on for generations, can make it harder for children to accept, worship and love God. Thus, it can be hard for those children to reap divine blessing.
Today, ask yourself what you are doing to leave spiritual blessings for the next generation. This could involve teaching children to read Scripture, pray or guiding them down the path of righteousness. It could involve exposing them to Christian entertainment, teaching them about missionaries or teaching them how godly values play out in the modern world. Every time you see a teachable moment, use it so the young people in your life will understand who God is.
If there is generational sin in your family, you can be the one to break the cycle. Identify the sin—abuse, alcoholism, gambling, drug addiction—and call it what it is. Then, with the help of godly counsel, make a commitment to take steps that remove the sin from your lifestyle.
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