Sins of the Fathers

"Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need."
Psalm 79:8

There are so many ways to apply this scripture that it is difficult to know where to begin. We hear the phrase, "sins of the fathers," all the time. Hollywood has exploited this theme in several movies. Even those who know nothing about the Bible know this phrase. What makes this such an important theme, and how do we apply it to our lives?
    First, let's apply it to our nations. Throughout the history of the United States and many other nations, there have been grievous errors and atrocities that have been perpetrated. Our fathers were not always righteous in the things they did. Nations are forced to contend with sins that have followed them throughout the course of history. Some of these go back to ancient times, others only a few hundred years.But I know this about God. He is a Redeemer. We do not have to live under the curse of the sins of our nations' fathers. This takes a unified people who are willing to seek God. The reason many nations still labor under these curses is because they have failed to repent and seek God. If we are to move on in the grace and mercy of God, we must confess and repent of the sins of our forefathers.
    We can also apply this to our own families. Some live under the curse of addictions such as alcoholism, drug abuse or sexual immorality. Some have fathers who were thieves or murderers. How does one defeat the things that have been passed down through the generations? The answer is still the same. We must repent for our fathers. They may have never done it themselves, so we must. We must renounce those sins and ask God to remove the influence from our lives. In other words, we must say, "It stops here and now!" We must be the generation that takes a stand so these things are not passed on to our children. Nehemiah, the Old Testament rebuilder of Jerusalem confessed the sins of his fathers before he even began the project. Before we go on from here, let's put an end to the sins that have been passed down through the generations.
    Whatever sin you are affected by, you do not have to live with it. The Bible tells us that curses may continue to the third of fourth generation, but God's blessings flow to a thousand generations. This is where we live, in the blessings of God, not in the curse of sin. It has been paid for already by Christ on the cross. Let's take a stand for ourselves, our children and our children's children. The curse of sin is broken in our lives.