Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church

John 9:1-7, Exodus 20:4-6

This weekend we celebrate the harvest. We count our blessings and give thanks. We are amazed at God’s goodness to us. We could have been born in another time or another place. We might have been born in one of the poor countries of the world rather than one of the prosperous countries. We indeed have much for which we should give thanks.

No sooner do we count our blessings and appreciate our conditions than we wonder why life is so unfair. Jesus’ disciples struggled with the unfairness of life. They saw a man who had been born blind. Knowing that this was clearly unfair, the disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Consider the two assumptions behind this question. The disciples assumed that illness was a curse that came as a result of sin. They also assumed that the results of sin could be passed from one generation to the next generation. Jesus’ response confronted their first assumption. His blindness was not the consequence of sin. In this case, the healing of the blindness brought glory to God.

Jesus did not, however, confront their second assumption. He seems to have agreed with the common understanding that the consequences of sin could be passed from one generation to the next. Where did they get this idea? It came from the Ten Commandments.

The second commandment is the only one that contains both a blessing and a curse. According to this commandment, our sinful actions can bring results that affect not only our own lives but may harm the family down to the third and fourth generations. On the other hand, our faithfulness to God can bring blessings, which pass from one generation to the next for a thousand generations. Let us consider the importance of understanding how blessings and curses are handed down.

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 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 fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:4-6

The first mate of the ship complained to the captain. He had just been reviewing the ship’s log and noticed that on a number of days the captain had written, “First Mate was drunk today.” The first mate complained, “You didn’t have to put that in there. Just think how future generations will interpret it. What will they think of me when they read that?” The captain responded, “I’m simply recording the facts and telling the truth. Let people think what they want, I am keeping an accurate record for history.” The first mate requested permission to include his own historical record in the ship’s log. When the captain was assured that the material would be accurate and factual, permission was granted. The first mate wrote, “Captain was sober today.”

How will we be remembered by future generations? According to the second of the Ten Commandments, we will leave a legacy. For most of us, our legacy has little to do with what is recorded in captain’s logs or history books. Our legacy shows up in the lives of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

King David left a legacy. He came from a common background as a shepherd and became king in Israel. God truly blessed David as he grew in faith and developed a trust in God. David was incredibly successful at establishing secure borders for his nation. He experienced the popularity of a charismatic leader. He is remembered in the Bible as a “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22). The blessing of his faithfulness has been passed down through hundreds of generations since Jesus was born into David’s lineage. Yet, David’s legacy also included the results of a serious moral failure. His sins brought consequences not only to him, but also for his children and grandchildren.

King David is the one who committed adultery with Bathsheba. David’s sin of adultery led to his sin of murdering Bathsheba’s husband in order to marry her. David’s older sons picked up his patterns of manipulation. One son raped a half-sister. When Tamar’s brother, Absalom, learned that a half-brother had raped her, Absalom plotted a way to kill Amnon, the rapist. King David was horrified to hear what was going on in his family. His sons were replaying the sins of their father; sexual sin and violence were continuing to plague the family. King David exiled Absalom, which led to bitterness and an eventual civil war between father and son.

One of the saddest portions of the Bible is the story about King David learning of Absalom’s death. David mourns for his son by wailing, “Oh, Absalom, my son, my son!” I think David realized that his own sins had brought consequences not only into his own life, but also had passed on into the future generations of his family.

Can this happen today? His mother was abusive. She did not seem to know how to balance love with discipline, so he experienced feelings of abandonment interspersed with violent outbursts. The school psychologist recognized that this 13 year-old boy was at high risk for serious emotional problems. In high school, the young man was teased by other youth. He was beat up by some of the school bullies and teased by the mean-spirited girls. He left school to join the Marines.

As a Marine he kept getting into fights. His fellow marines teased him about beginning to lose his hair so young. They nicknamed him “Ozzie, the Rabbit,” since his ears stuck out. He grew more violent and rebellious until the Marines dishonorably discharged him.

He returned home and married an immigrant girl. After having two children, their marriage became a replay of his childhood. His wife became abusive and teased him in front of friends. Finally, fed up with his life, on November 22, 1963, he drove to Dallas, Texas and assassinated the President of the United States. Lee Harvey Oswald reminds us of this truth: one generation can pass the legacy of a curse onto the next generation.

Here is another truth: our choices for good or evil bring consequences not only to ourselves but also to our children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. We are responsible for how we influence our family’s future.

This truth is not intended, however, as a way of blaming our problems on past generations. “My family didn’t love me, so that’s why I turned out this way.” Ezekiel 18 recognized this danger of turning the second commandment’s curse into a helpless feeling of victimization. In Ezekiel’s day, there was a common phrase that the prophet told the Israelites to stop using. It went like this: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezekiel 18:2). The prophet warned the people to stop using this interpretation, which excuses people by blaming their present choices on past influences. Ezekiel recognized the power of God to touch and change people’s lives. Even if our parents have committed serious sins and our family suffers the results, we can choose to break the cycle for the future of our family by the choices we make. We can replace sinful curses with blessings when we ask Jesus to make a difference in our lives. In fact, the blessings can be passed to many more generations than the curses. If curses can be passed down for four generations, blessings can continue for a thousand generations.

Here is the amazing thing about this commandment. Most of us are not pure funnels of evil or good. We pass on a blend of blessings and curses. We are so complex that we may simultaneously influence our children with healthy attitudes while also injecting some unhealthy character flaws.

My grandmother was a godly woman. She read her Bible faithfully. She was a devoted Sunday school teacher and a politically active, respected member of the community. She donated large sums of money to several worthwhile causes. When my grandmother died, the walls of her home were lined with plaques from numerous social agencies. She had received local honors and state honors for her volunteerism. The pastor of our church told me that every year she donated the Thanksgiving cornucopia that decorated the church communion table and then she made sure poor families received the holiday food.

My mother enjoyed the blessing of my grandmother’s care and nurture. She received the benefits of strong Christian values. Mom in turn passed on to me the importance of not only walking with Christ, but also serving your neighbors. She continued the best aspects of my grandmother’s legacy.

Unfortunately, this is only half the story. There was another side to my grandmother. She was a closet alcoholic. My aunt, born ten years after my mom, during my grandmother’s middle age, grew up as my grandmother’s drinking problem spiraled out of control. She tells me that my grandmother’s discipline was inconsistent. My aunt felt ignored since my grandmother was too busy around town to spend much time with a second child. It is not surprising that my aunt picked up the worst of my grandmother’s legacy. My aunt also became an alcoholic. It destroyed her marriage.

One woman, two daughters—two legacies. This is the reality of the second commandment. It would be easier if we simply left a legacy of either blessing or curse. Most of us, however, will pass on a combination of curses and blessings.

My grandmother left two legacies in her daughter’s lives, and she turned her later years into a blessing in her grandchildren’s lives. When I decided to go to seminary, my grandmother was so supportive. She shared with me that she had felt called to mission work but been unable to serve. She helped pay most of our costs through seminary. She sent wonderful donations to our first ministry in a mission church.

She prayed for me and celebrated what God was doing in my life. My ministry is her legacy.

Unfortunately, most of us recognize as we look back with 20-20 vision the ways we might have left a better legacy. We sometimes may have said hurtful things. On the other hand, we may have also given encouragement. We sometimes probably reacted out of anger or guilt, but then again there were moments when we were more gracious. I suspect many of us have just been through lots of old stuff left in our families that keep showing up at Thanksgiving family gatherings. God is gracious. God forgives us and encourages us to move on and do better next time.

The good news is that God has set up our world so that the curses have a short shelf life while the blessings keep on giving. This Thanksgiving let us not just count our blessings, let us be a blessing.