If you’ve listened to stories related by “adult children of alcoholics,” you will come to know that alcoholism is a “family illness.” Not only are the immediate family members affected by an alcoholic’s behavior, but the effects of the disease are passed on to the next generation. This doesn’t seem fair that grandchildren and even great grandchildren must pay a price for an ancestor’s issues.
In a culture where freedom is promoted and consequences aren’t talked about, we have a hard time dealing with the negative side of life.
Moses was the intermediary between God and the Israelites. As we know from reading the Book of Exodus, this people were not an easy group to deal with. There were times in which God had to draw a tough line with them. Today we read of a meeting that Moses had with God, and the message he related afterwards to the people (Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5-9,28).
“The tent, which was called the meeting tent, Moses used to pitch at some distance away, outside the camp…As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another.”
We wonder what God said to Moses.
“Thus, the Lord passed before him (Moses) and cried out, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness for a thousand generations and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin.”
What good news. God reveals the depths of his personality as one overflowing with mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. This, however, was not all he had to say. He continued with the bad news.
“…yet not declaring the guilty guiltless but punishing children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for their fathers’ wickedness!’”
Though God is ready to forgive sin, he does not overlook it. He does not turn his face away and pretend that the guilty are guiltless. In fact, the unrepentant sinner not only pays a price himself, but so do his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren—the “third and fourth generations.” This doesn’t seem fair does it, that even the innocent must pay the price for their fathers’ guilt. Yet it is the way things are.
We are all connected to each other. The sin of one person in the Body of Christ has a negative impact on the rest of the Body. We do not live in isolation. We need only look around to see how the sin of Adam and Eve has created problems for their descendants to the thousandth generation.
The other side of the coin is that the virtuous person also impacts others. One holy member in the Body of Christ helps generate grace to the rest of the Body. One saintly parent affects many generations of family members.
Sadly, we live in a world that not only denies the existence of sin and wickedness but parades it and defends the “rights” of sinners to sin. God does not declare the guilty to be guilt-free unless they admit their sin and repent. Perpetrators of pornography, abortion, cheating, and lying are not only bringing consequences on themselves but also upon their descendants and, in fact, the whole human family.
Though we want to have filial fear of God rather than servile fear, there are times in which long-termed consequences of sin must be considered. God’s justice is as real as his mercy.
“The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed” (Ps 103:6).
