Caught in a Cycle

Families. They have more than just their last name in common. There's things we pass on through genetics that are simply amazing. I know someone who literally looks just like her mother. I mean, serious mini-me, right down to even having the same voice! Only age keeps them from looking like twins!

Beyond the physical traits that are passed down, we can also pass down personality traits or habits or ways of thinking. Some of these things are very good, like having a generous, giving heart. Maybe your mom has always been kind and hospitable to those in need, but if you look closer, so was her mother and even grandmother. That's a beautiful thing to pass down to future generations! 

But there are also things we wish we didn't pass on. For example, maybe a bad temper runs in the family. Maybe Uncle Steve is hot blooded, but so was his father and so was his grandfather. Poor Steve, whether he realizes it or not, he is a third generation into a very bad cycle. But he will naturally continue in it because that is all he has ever known. 

Unless he is intentional.

And that is what we must be if we want to stop passing down the things we ourselves are trying to get free from. We must be intentional. There must be a deliberate halt, a conscious decision made to stop in our tracks and refuse to continue down the path that all those before us have traveled. We must be willing to stop and turn around, turn and face our demons, so to speak, that have driven us and our families forward in that terrible direction. We must be willing to challenge the well-this-is-just-who-we-are mentality, like:

"You know, we just all have anger issues in this family." Or

"Yeah, your father never made anything of himself, so don't expect to ever go anywhere either." Or

"Our family doesn't associate with the people like them and neither should you." Or

"Poverty is just our lot in life. We're stuck." Or

"Your business is my business therefore there are no healthy boundaries between us."

I could go on and on.

These generational issues may not be spoken of directly, but it is definitely understood. And how difficult it is to change something that is so deeply established. 

But listen, if you are a child of God, know this:

He has not called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light only for you to continue to live under generational struggles and mentalities. He has a fresh path with new thinking and new plans and new -- well everything! You're a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. And what's important to remember is that Jesus fights for you. We never face demons in our own strength. More than anything else, Jesus wants us to be free and this includes freedom from the things that have held our families down for even hundreds of years. It might be too big for us to handle, but not for Him.

Ask God to show you today if there are things you struggle with that are generational. Then be the brave one to stop the cycle.

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