Pray First

Read Genesis 19:23-38

Have you ever heard of trickle-down economics? My son would probably laugh that I am even writing the word economics. He’s in finance; I’m definitely not. The essence of this economic theory is that if benefits are given to the wealthy, such as big business owners, those benefits will trickle down to everyone else. The wealthy business owners will invest, hire, and pay employees, and thus drive economic growth. In other words, the actions of those with influence will affect the lives of those around them. If someone with influence over another does something, good or bad, and especially if that person repeats the pattern, the effects will eventually trickle down to others.

I hope you noticed the jump from economics to behavior. As a kid, who had the most influence on your behavior? At times we may see a toddler who is kind and gentle with others and it may be said that, “He got that from his mother.” Or we may hear a child speak with sarcasm and it may be said that she got that from her father. People around us influence us. 

We may grow up to be good economists because our parents taught us those skills by their example and by training. We may have a heart to help people in need because we saw our parents mow someone’s yard or take them a meal. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to “train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it,” (ESV).

What happens when those who have such great influence over us are buried in sin and trapped in Satan’s lies? Sinful actions and thought patterns have consequences that trickle down through generations. This is called generational sin. In the first of the Ten Commandments, God says “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,” (Ex 20:3-5 ESV, emphasis mine). Sin that we refuse to surrender not only affects us but has a trickle-down effect on our children and our children’s children resulting in a cycle of bondage that can continue on and on unless broken by the power of Christ.

Adam and Eve were our first offenders. They committed the first sin, relegating a spirit of sinfulness to all generations following. 

In our reading today from Genesis 19, we find that Lot’s daughters are early examples of the stronghold a sinful life can have on a family and a nation. After their rescue from Sodom’s destruction, Lot and his daughters found themselves living in a cave alone and isolated. In their desperation to have children, the daughters turned to the depravity of those they grew up near and conceived a plot to get their father drunk and lie with him to become pregnant. 

They both conceived sons by their own father. The oldest named her son Moab, he became the father of the Moabites. The younger daughter named her son Ben-Ammi who became the father of the Ammonites. The wickedness of Lot’s two daughters became an evil stronghold for generations. Both of their sons’ nations were pagan, worshipped idols, and were hostile to the Israelites. 

Abraham and Sarah, who we know God blessed to become the nation of Israel, had their strongholds as well. In Genesis 12 and again in Genesis 20, they were caught lying to officials about their relationship out of fear that Sarah would be taken from Abraham and he would be murdered. That lying spirit passed on to their son Isaac and his son Jacob.

The sins of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and Lot’s daughters obviously had generational strongholds, but they were each accountable for their own sins. While our own sin can have a far-reaching effect outside our own woes, our parent’s sins are not our excuse to remain in that bondage. It may help us gain some understanding about our issues, but we are still accountable for our own sin and our own willingness, or unwillingness, to turn to God for mercy, grace, and freedom.

Many sins plague our current culture through generational sin. Parents divorce and leave in the wake a spirit of the broken word, entrapping the children with the same stronghold. The spirit of addiction in a home is hard to hide leaving those in its path with a hard fight ahead to resist that stronghold. We are “plagued with unforgiveness, lying, bitterness, fear, worry, judgment, resentment, pride, rejection, envy, jealousy, anger, abuse, covetousness, doubt, unbelief, rebellion, drunkenness, manipulation, greed, lust, idolatry…hatred, molestation, incest and revenge,” lists Nan Brown Self in her article “What Is a Generational Sin?” 

The good news is, we don’t have to remain in bondage to the power of any sin, generational sins included. We have a God who will hear our cries for help. He has already provided the means for us to be free. He sent His son to die on the cross paying the price for each and every one of our sins. This freedom is available to you no matter your starting point, whether you have been in bondage to your sin for one minute, one day, or one generation. There is hope for freedom in what Jesus did for you.  

Even though your sin may be a generational sin from your parents, or grandparents, Jesus sees your sin as yours. We don’t suffer the penalty for the sins of our parents, we suffer the penalty for our own sins. And he has enough mercy for you regardless of the sin. He loves you more than what you have done. 

You can cry out to him, admit your sin to him, and ask for his forgiveness. And because he has already paid the price of death for your sin, he has mercy beyond measure, and will immediately forgive you. You can stop holding onto that stronghold. And when it rears its ugly head, you can draw near to God for help when you are weak. You can break the curse of the sin that has plagued you and your family through prayer and spiritual warfare. You can find godly friends to help you find your way to be strong. You can talk to a Christian counselor to help you discover more strategies for resisting the temptations to return to the sin that held you captive. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” (Jn 8:36). 

With the trickle-down economics of generational sin, Satan’s desire is to keep us in bondage to our family history, to steal and destroy us. But the all-powerful ONE is greater than the deceiver! 

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,” (John 10:10 ESV). Receive freedom from the bondage of sin and let your love of Christ trickle down to those you love. 

 

Find Tracy on Facebook at Tracy Fields Todd, Writer, and on Instagram at @tracyftodd.