Pass It Down

The biggest regret in my life is that I did not have the personal relationship with Christ I have now when I was raising my kids. I took them to church, taught them to say Grace and bedtime prayers. I was a believer but not submitted to Christ as Lord of my life. I did not model, either the walk or talk of a mature Christian for my kids. When I knew better, I did better. I think, perhaps, the worse of all generational curses is not passing on a strong spiritual foundation. Psalm 78 shows us the wisdom of passing on the knowledge of God to our children and generations to follow. If we don't, who will?

Psalm 78:1-8    

      Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.

" A stubborn and rebellious generation…"… that concept has been 

around a long time. We, as a people, are stubborn and rebellious, 

not only to God but to our parents, elders, and authority figures. 

The two quotes below share that notion.

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for

authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer

rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,

chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their

legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."

"The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have

no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all

restraint. They talk as if they alone knew everything and what passes

for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for girls, they are

forward, immodest and unwomanly in speech, behavior and dress."

Both of those quotes date back to the time of Plato and Socrates, 400-300 BC. They are as true today as they were back then. I know that's a sweeping generalization and there are exceptions, great kids doing powerful works for the Lord. My point is, keeping in mind we are also the younger generation to those before us, people have always been driven by and for the flesh, self-serving and motivated by all that glitters.

My maternal grandfather was a spirit-filled preacher. Father of seven, he never saw the fruit of his labor to instill a spiritual foundation in any of his kids. I asked an aunt once why none of them were church-goers and she said he took them when they were younger but as teens they were heathens (her words, not mine) and wanted to do their own thing. He modeled the life and behavior I didn't see in my parents or show to my kids, yet the call of the world and flesh pulled his kids away. I take no satisfaction in that knowledge.

As parents, we do the best we know to do most of the time. We fail and fall short. Our kids will, too. The best we can do as parents is following the mandate as stated in Psalms 78. God will always do His part; we need be faithful to our part:

   Which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.