Exodus 20:1-18
Verse 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
Another thing we need to learn about sin and repentance is how it doesn’t just affect us. We like to think we are the only ones our choices will affect but God was making sure the people of Israel understood their sin wasn’t just theirs. When we stop thinking about the long-term consequences of our sins we stop seeing the necessity of repenting of them.
If you notice, this reminder about the sins filtering down through the generations is part of the second commandment. God wants His people to understand when they allow other things to come into the role of God in their lives it will have an impact on the future generations and others around them. It didn’t just apply to them, it remains true today.
Our society wants us to think we need to put ourselves first in every area of life. It may be about advancing as far and quickly as we can in our career or have the house or car of our dreams, these goals show just how much we have placed ourselves as idols. Not that being productive in our career is wrong or even having a nice place to live or nice car, but if that is what consumes our time and energy it shows who we are thinking about most in life, ourselves.
It is easy to see how being consumed with building a higher living in this life can reflect in the lives of our kids. They can become just as driven as we are in every area of life or maybe they will become rebellious and live as far from the teaching we try to give them as possible. When things other than God take the god-spot of our lives, our children will come to understand God is not important to us and so they were see Him as unimportant to them as well.
If we want our children to know what it means to not have idols in their lives we need to repenting of – deserting – our idols, starting with ourselves and our earthly desires. To know God and make Him known is the greatest inheritance we can pass on to our children and grandchildren. This means we need to know what it means to repent.
Making It Personal
Are there things in your life which could be telling those around you that God isn’t number one in your life? Have you repented for it? How does your life need to change to put Him in the place He deserves?
Making It Personal Kids
Does your mom and dad live as if Jesus is the most important person in their lives? What kinds of things can become an idol in your life? Do you want Jesus to be in first place in your life?
Closing Prayer
Father, we repent of times we have allowed other things to come in between us and You. Give us wisdom in our choices so that You are always number one in our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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