Passing it Down

I'll bet none of you regularly do devotions in Genesis 36. No, it's not the part about Joseph's dreams. That's in chapter 37. Chapter 36 lists the descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother.

Esau, if you remember, threatened to kill Jacob after his brother "stole" the birthright and the blessing from him. It led Jacob on a run back to his grandfather's home town where he married Leah and Rachel. On his way back Jacob so feared Esau's wrath that he sent a huge gift ahead of him and broke up the camp into two pieces hoping one piece would escape the slaughter.

Esau wasn't as angry anymore (at least he didn't show it) but Jacob didn't trust his brother and lived apart from him.

So now comes Esau's kids. Two names strike out at me: Edom and Amalek. Do these names sound familiar? The Edomites and Amalekites were sworn enemies of Israel and had to be wiped off the face of the earth.

I point this out because I think that somehow the anger of Esau got passed down to his kids and grand kids and so forth until it worked its way into the very fabric of the people. I think that it is important as parents and mentors to pay attention to those things in our lives that do not reflect the character of God. If they are persistent and pervasive they will have a tendency to get passed along to your kids and those around you that you influence.

It's not a one to one ratio - just because you got angry once doesn't mean you will have angry kids. But just pay attention to the trends. If there are things you are doing a lot that God wouldn't do, then change your mind about it, ask God's forgiveness and then cleansing.

The good news is that the things you do often that do reflect God's character get passed along too.

Pastor Tom