Sins of the Fathers / The Time Binder

Recent studies published in the scientific press, have shown a clear association between the life choices of citizens of a remote 19th century northern Swedish county and the life choices and health outcomes of their descendants 3 to 4 generations later. Dr Lars Olav Bygren studied the descendants of boys who had endured near starvation winters in Norrbotten when the crops failed totally and those who had experienced the rare overabundant winters, when the same people were able to gorge themselves for months due to the abundant harvests. The conclusions drawn from the study conducted by Bygren and a related Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) showed that life decisions and parental experiences can alter gene activity- though not affecting the genetic code and be passed on to at least one generation.

This means that decisions that I make today can somehow be encoded and passed on to my offspring yet unborn, affecting decisions that they will make in their lives, determining their ultimate health outcomes and longevity several generations later. Bygren and other scientists have amassed evidence showing that powerful environmental conditions (near death from starvation for instance) can leave an imprint on the genetic material in eggs and sperm affecting the health and longevity of their descendants. The research showed that the children in Norrbotten and Overkalix who enjoyed those rare over abundant winters- who went from normal eating to gluttony in a single season- produced sons and grandsons who lived shorter lives (up to 32 years shorter on average). “To put it simply, the data suggested that a single winter of overeating as a youngster could initiate a biological chain of events that would lead ones grandchildren to die decades earlier than their peers did. How could this be possible?” (Read more on Time.com).

Recent studies have shown that there are cellular materials associated with the genes that affect how genes express themselves (without changing the genes themselves) and these changes can be passed on down the line. These cellular materials are called epigenome. It is through epigenetic marks that environmental factors like diet, stress, smoking and prenatal nutrition can make an imprint on the genes and be passed from one generation to the next. “We all know that you can truncate your own life if you smoke or overeat, but it's becoming clear that those same bad behaviours can also predispose your kids — before they are even conceived — to disease and early death.”(ibid)

The implications of these findings are crucial when applied to the spiritual and ethical realm. If smoking, overeating, nutrition and stress can have implications for life outcomes that can be passed on for several generations, what of sexual immorality, anger or even a positive spiritual outlook? The scriptures record in the second commandment that the consequences of the sins of the fathers continue into the 3rd and 4th generation of those who hate him.

It scares me to contemplate that the decisions of one’s youth, actions indulged in, thoughts and desires for good or for ill can bind ones descendants making their journey of life more difficult than it need be. Often people look at family members and see a way of behaving, a way of laughing, a temperament that is just like great Aunt Matilda or Uncle Tom indicating that desires, ways of behaving and temperament passes down the family line. One wonders if this is what is seen working out in the family of Abraham, a predilection for lying, a sharp deceptive way of dealing which appears to be a family trait. Abram said of Sarah in Egypt, she is my sister, later Isaac said of Rebecca to the Philistine ruler, “She is my sister”. Was this all coincidence maybe or simply a pragmatic way to preserve life in very dangerous and violent times? When later we see Rebecca’s deceptive dealing with Isaac over the blessing of the firstborn, Jacob’s dealing with Esau concerning the pottage of stew and Laban’s dealing with Jacob concerning the marriage of his daughters and salary one cannot help but feel that this must be a family trait. Is it all coincidence or a sign of ‘bad blood,’ negative traits passing down the family line? Whatever it means, it behoves us to seek to be to be the best that we can be by the grace of God. We should endeavour not to make the journey of life any more burdensome for our descendants than they need be by passing on more negative inherited traits to them.

The story is not all bad news however, though the sins of the fathers affect the children, the second Commandment does go on to say that God shows mercy unto a thousand generations of those who love Him, and keep His commandments. By our negative choices we might bind our descendants to much pain, tears and sorrow on the path of life, but we also can by the spiritual choices that we make break the bonds of sin and rebellion, releasing the mercy and blessings of God in the lives of our descendants to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments (Exodus 20:5, 6 NIV). 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us further that God will by His grace break the bonds of sin and negative inheritance, making of all those who put their faith in Christ a “new creation,” thereby opening up a new path of wholeness and positive living for those who love Him and keep His commandments.