Baptist City Blog

We often talk about the importance of the next generation, but if the next generation is so important, the present generation must fulfill their responsibilities. 

Each generation is in some way a result of the previous generation. If the old paths are so important, and they are, each generation is going to have to do their part to be sure that they are passed down to the next one.

God desires generational perpetuity. God gives a promise in the verse above that if each generation keeps his covenants and testimonies, “their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.” This is what you call generational perpetuity. There are four things we must understand about generational perpetuity.

First, each generation is to teach the next generation. Notice that it says in the verse above, “If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them…” The question must be asked, how is God going to teach them? The answer to this question is the present generation. God always uses people to do His work. If you want your children and grandchildren to know about righteousness, you are going to have to teach them. It is your responsibility to be sure the next generation understands the covenants and testimonies of God.

Second, each generation is affected by the previous generation. For good or bad, the next generation will do what they have been taught through lifestyle and teaching. Whether or not we like it, the present generation is a result of the previous generation. Your children are going to be affected by how you live. You have a much better chance of your children serving God if you live right. Don't blame God for your children doing wrong if you do wrong in front of them. Children learn how to live by watching their parents. If you don't want the next generation to turn out the way you live, then change your lifestyle.

Third, each generation is responsible for itself. The perpetuity of the throne is dependent upon how the present generation lives according to God’s Word. Yes, the present generation may have learned bad qualities from the previous generation, but they are ultimately responsible for their own actions. God won’t hold you accountable for how your parents lived, neither will he take into account how they lived, but He holds you responsible for how you live.

Fourth, each generation can break the cycle for good or bad. You can blame the previous generation for what they handed you, or you can take responsibility and do right yourself. “Generational sins” are nothing more than learned habits. You don't inherit the sins of your parents; you learn them. Those sins may have been in your family line for many generations, but you can be the generation that breaks the cycle so as not to teach the next generation the sins of the family. Someone has to say, “Enough is enough. I’m not going to teach my children the bad qualities that I learned from my parents.” It is up to you! Don't settle for the learned sins of the previous generation. Take responsibility for your own actions, break the cycle and teach the next generation how to do right. That, my friend, is how you set up generational perpetuity.