Deuteronomy 24:16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.

For the average American it seems incredible that this would even need to be in the Bible, but there are places in the world where this is practiced even today. There have been examples from North Korea and elsewhere just recently, in fact. Many Westerners don’t realize that the the Bible is the foundation of the moral and legal structure they take for granted. That’s why they try to insist that people can be moral without religion. Without a Creator to whom we are accountable, there is ultimately no basis for morality, and anything goes. There are those who are claiming that even today, but when you make the logical extension in relation to things done to them, they get all upset! People want to be free to do anything to anyone, but don’t want others to be free to do anything to them. That’s why God gave us guidelines in the Bible. People chafe at any restrictions, but they don’t realize that every command of God is for our good. No parent with any sense is going to let their toddler do anything they want! God is, of course, our heavenly Father, and it’s no accident that parental rights are currently under severe attack, in the US and elsewhere. Just recently a judge had the good sense to throw out a case where a teenager was suing her parents for support, after she had left home over refusing to abide by family rules in relation to curfew and the like. That’s not a capital crime, certainly, but those parents aren’t to be punished for their daughter’s sins. I’m just thankful the judge recognized that.

I’m dealing with a strained parent-child relationship in the church right now, and things haven’t always been peaceful in our own home either. It is in the nature of children to rebel, to some extent at any rate, but it is the responsibility of parents to set and enforce guidelines. That can fall apart for various reasons, so parents need to be committed to listening obediently to Father God themselves. I see so many cases where the children are rebellious because the parents are rebellious against God. I am to speak the truth in love, consistently and as forcefully as necessary, knowing that God’s rules are always for our good, on every level.

Father, so often I get frustrated that people can’t see what seems perfectly obvious to me, but then I remember that they don’t have the same Biblical foundation I do. It’s not to the extent of children being put to death for their parents’ sins or vice versa, but they didn’t grow up in a family that sought to live according to Your Word. I ask for patience, wisdom, and love to deal with them, so that Your principles may be established for the sake of the next generation, at any rate, and the various lies of the enemy be exposed and countered by Your truth, for the benefit of all involved and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!