…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… Deuteronomy 5:9

This is a tough passage to read in today’s world. Why should we be punished for the sins of our parents. It doesn’t seem fair. But it happens. Read on…

I must say that I received some good wisdom on this passage from a book I’ve been reading called, The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. Here’s the book on Amazon. A.J. is a self proclaimed agnostic. But he wanted to learn more about himself and faith so he ventured into writing this book. As he ponders God, he came across this passage. He likens the relationship that God has with his children and that A.J. has with his own.

If you interpret this passage to mean that a child would be struck down with a disease if his grandfather did something morally wrong or corrupt than such a God would seem cruel. If God is a fair God as the Church teaches, wouldn’t each person be born with a clean slate for themselves to tarnish? But A.J. (and I) don’t think that God is threatening us with such an outcome.

Think about a child. A child’s behavior is learned, usually by their parents. If you as a parent cuss, then get ready to hear those same words coming from the mouth of your three year old. If you cheat on your taxes, you’re teaching little Suzy to do the same. Men, do you ogle women? Chances are, Jr. is going to view women through the same set of glasses as you. I think you get the point. Children, whether they like it or not, often grow up to be the parents that shaped them.

Let’s go back to that verse. God is talking about worshiping other idols. If we worship idols, then God will punish “the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” This could mean that when parents act badly, their bad behavior will be passed down to the next few generations. Consider how the New Living Translation interprets it, “I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.”

Do I believe that my children will face some kind of retribution two generations from now if I ignore the speed limit? No. I really don’t. But I do believe that behavior is learned and we pass down our behavior to our children. When they act bad, isn’t it fair to say that there is a part of us acting through them? And isn’t it fair to say that our children will face the consequences of our lifestyle?

Now don’t read too much into this. We are responsible for our own behaviors. Plus, I don’t think this kind of defense would hold up in court. “Your honor, the reason that I stole that loaf of bread is because 75 years ago my great grandfather didn’t return that wallet he found with all the money in it.” (Of course, if you think that kind of defense would work, please let me know when your court date is. I want to be there when try it out.)

I do believe this. I am called to live with Jesus Christ as my measuring stick for my behavior. The more I model Christ, the more the generations that follow me will also model him.

God’s words in Deuteronomy serve more as a love warning than anything else. Your behaviors follow you. You have a responsibility to those that come after you. Change your behavior and you will change for family tree in a way that it will produce abundantly.

My wife and I are thinking about getting a dog. Dogs can be a lot of work. But there are a few things about dogs that really rock;  dogs love you. They always want to be near you or play catch. Dogs are loyal. I have seen dogs that have been mistreated by their owners; yelled at, swatted on the nose, even kicked. But when the owner comes home, the dog wags his tail.

Dogs can be trained. I knew a pastor in Iowa who owned a beautiful  Akita. The dog went with him everywhere. If there was a long meeting, the pastor would take his dog and sit him down in front of the church. He would tell the dog to stay and there Fido* sat until the master returned.

Maybe this is why we love dogs. They will always love us. They are loyal, even when mistreated. They can be trained to do what we want them to do. Oh how we wish that Jesus could be like that.

Let’s face it, if we’re not really serious about our relationship with Jesus, we treat him like a dog. I don’t mean dog in the sense of a girl who dumps her cheating boyfriend, “I dumped that dog!”  I mean dog in the sense that we can treat Jesus any way we want knowing that he will always love us and be loyal to us. And if we act just right or say the right things, we might even be able to train Jesus to do what we want him to do.

How do you know if you treat Jesus like a dog? Ask yourself the following. Do you

·         Ask Jesus to wait in the car while you go into work?

·         Put him in the back room of your house when friends are over?

·         Expect him to love you even when you don’t treat him like you should?

·         Expect him to come running to you when you call his name?

·         Expect to be able to train him to do what you want him to do?

When you think about your relationship with Jesus, what images come to mind? Is he walking along side you on a leash so you can keep some control over him, or do you cut that leash loose and allow him to establish the course of your journey? Are you willing to follow him for a change and allow him to set the direction of your life? Perhaps we are the ones who should show a little loyalty and eagerly await for Jesus to call our name. What would you say if he did?

* I don’t remember the dog’s actual name. But I think we can all agree that Fido is the universal name for dogs. And if you’re concerned, I don’t remember the pastor’s name either. But it was Iowa and the story is true

Meanwhile, the deacons worried about the new brand of coffee. It was more expensive than what they were currently serving. We were serving a “cost effective” brand of coffee. (By cost effective I mean cheap and bad tasting.)  I encouraged them to trust God; to risk spending an extra $30 one month and see what happens. After discussing the coffee they gave it a shot. Oh, did I mention, the discussion lasted for about a year and a half? By the time we served our first cup of LOTH coffee, Catalyst had already met again and was gearing up for the next conference. We served the coffee and the money came in. We asked the members of the church to give to the coffee mission and about $300 came in. Then another gift of $400 came in for a grand total of $700 in coffee money! Still, there was concern that it wouldn’t work. sigh.

These two ministries have in many ways been successful and I continue to encourage. But, I have to admit, it wore me down.

When I go to a place like Catalyst, I have to confess that I’m afraid of feeling motivated. Because I know when I get back my new found inspiration will be challenged. Why do we have to do this? We’ve never done this before. You think we don’t know what we’re doing. We don’t need to do this. Why do you want new people in the church? You want to get rid of us. You don’t like what we’re doing. sigh.

When I go to a place like Catalyst I feel like I’m looking at other people who won the ministry lottery. They’re successful. They have big churches and big ministries. People come from all over to hear them. The more I go to seminars like this, the more I feel disillusioned about my role in the church.

I didn’t go to Catalyst in Atlanta this year because I did not want to come home and place my inspiration on a shelf. I know that is wrong. I know that is sad. I know being “big” does not mean being successful and God has done great things where I’m at. And I would like to go back. But I couldn’t go this year.

When I was a kid I remember a poster in the fellowship hall at my church. It had a number of objects on it, all identical in shape and all the same color. Except one. One object was a different color. The caption on the bottom of the poster read, “I don’t’ want to change the world, I want to change the world for one person.”

Sometimes I think we pastors feel like we are the only ones that are being changed. Then again I am reminded of that couple who said their marriage was better as a result of attending the FPU class that I stood for. I felt as much a pastor in that moment than I do when I perform a baptism or a wedding. And if I am doing my math correctly, that is two people.

And, now that I think about it, I did stumble across FPU at Catalyst. And we are still serving that good coffee. I’ll have to clear my calendar for Catalyst next year.

My city is doing some road construction. In the process, they’ve shut down a busy on ramp to a major street. Their way of redirecting traffic is a bit unusual. They’ve placed a sign on the road about a mile before the detour. That is not so out of the ordinary. What is unique is the message:

Ramp to N 2nd St Closed
Go another way.

Is that second sentence so necessary? It’s not really helpful. It’s pretty much implied in the first sentence anyway isn’t it?

Have you ever come across a “road closed” sign with no direction on how to get around? The advice to “Go another way” isn’t helpful. When the bridge is out, you know you need to go another way. But what way?

Are you on one side of town and need to get the other? Are you living your life on one side of a chasm but need to cross over? What do you do when you’re traveling down the road of life and the bridge is out? You find another way. But how?

Can government show you another way? (I think their road sign gives us the answer.) Can a good job show us the way? It helps but then again, why are so many people with money unhappy? Can drugs show us the way? I think many of us have learned that they can show us a good time but lead to a dead end. The world offers lots of “ways.” But where do they lead?

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

He didn’t say I am “a way.” He said I am “the way.”

Will you be at your destination when you find Jesus? – No. Will all your problems be solved when you discover Jesus? – No.  Will life become happy and blissful when you find Jesus? – No.

Ok Mad Pastor, what are you saying?

Jesus is the way. He is the way to truth. He is the way to life.

Jesus is not the detour. He is the way.

If you find Jesus, you will find the direction you need to go in order to get to the destination he has in store for you.

Or if you like, you can just follow one sign’s advice and “Go another way.”