Genesis 26: 7-11: “And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
It is interesting to note how the son followed the same pattern as his father. Even though Isaac was not born when Abraham asked Sarah to pretend that she was his sister he still did just as his father had done in the same circumstances. Children grow up believing that their own circumstances are normal. If you, as a parent, complain about everything then your children will believe that it is right to complain. If you spend your time committing character assassination against other people then your children will believe that is the right way to behave. If a parent is depressed when their child is young then the child will grow up with a much greater chance of being depressed. If you are a control freak then your children will believe that it is right to be a control freak. However, it is only possible for one member of a couple to be a control freak. In spite of this there is a passage in Deuteronomy that informs us on our own responsibilities in these circumstances (Deut 24: 16 “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”) It doesn’t matter what happens to you when you are a child. When you are an adult you choose what you think and you, therefore, become responsible for your own actions. No one can ever blame their parents for actions that they have chosen to do themselves.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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