I Choose Freedom

Remember the scene from Father of the Bride when George Banks (the father) takes his soon-to-be son-in-law out for a drink?  The purpose of the dreaded outing is because Annie (the bride) is having doubts about her impending wedding, worrying if she’s made a mistake.  George walks into the bar with every intention to talk Bryan out of marrying his daughter, but then he takes pity on him, and quite the opposite happens.  He explains why Annie is the way she is, and why she’s having these sudden doubts.  He says that she comes from a long of worriers, himself included.  But he’s a mild worrier compared to Annie’s grandparents and great grandparents, who apparently bordered on nutty.

It’s one of my favorite movies.  And even though it’s a comedy through and through, that scene packs a powerful and serious punch.  It’s that moment where everything starts to makes sense—especially the character of George Banks.  All of his charades throughout the movie are now understandable.  As I watch I start to take pity on George.  Well of course he is the way the way he is.  Look at his family history?

I’ve heard a phrase thrown around recently in church circles.  Generational Sin.  On their own, they are descriptive, stand-alone words.  But when you put them together, they take on a whole different meaning.  A meaning I struggle with.

The simple definition, I’ve concluded, is that generational sin is a destructive behavior, belief, attitude, or pattern of our ancestors that at some point may become our sin in the present.  The kicker, however, is that we may not even recognize generational sin in our own life.

George Banks did though.  He didn’t call it generational sin, but he could identify his character flaw and where it came from; maybe even justify his own behavior a little.  After all, it didn’t start with him.

On one hand, the term generational sin seems binding.  We can’t choose our family.  We can’t choose our heritage. It’s chosen for us.  So if a particular sin is infused into our bloodline at some point, does that mean it’s attached to us permanently? On this side of Heaven, we’re sinful by nature, so now add generational sin on top of that?  That’s disturbing.

On the other hand, knowing about generational sin could easily cause us to use it as a crutch; an excuse; a new definition of ourselves—kind of like George Banks did.

Understanding who we are is important.  Acknowledging our family history is necessary.  Realizing that generational sin exists is essential for our future. But the problem starts when we stay in that place, and accept the unhealthy habit previous generations have passed down. What we are really doing is accepting the sin; allowing it to label us.

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NLT

Yes!

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! Galatians 5:17 NLT

Amen!

But one thing I do: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14 NLT

I don’t like labels.  I don’t like to be held captive by anything.  And I certainly don’t want some unhealthy pattern from the distant past to define me.  I choose freedom.  Do you?

The inspiration for this post came from an article Phil Vaughan wrote on his blog.  Check it out. http://www.philvaughan.org/the-scorpion-and-the-frog-2-0/