What not to learn

 

What not to learn Psalm 106:1-6

Does anyone make it through life not becoming like their parents? There's a word, a mannerism or something you do that reminds you of your parents or grandparents. You laugh every time you notice it. It also reminds your family and friends of the those who raised you. People have told me my entire life that I look, act and sound like my father. Can anyone of us help it? Of course, having a similar laugh or sharing the same cooking skills is a blessing. But are there family traditions or beliefs you've needed to separate yourself from? Are there ways of thinking and being that don't align with your current values? That's often a hard conversation to have. It can feel dishonorable to challenge your inherited belief system or culture. Many family fights begin that way. And what of all the talk of personal salvation? Should we even concern ourselves with the sins of our ancestors? Scripture gives us a voice to. In today's reading, the psalmist laments the sin of his people. Not just he and his contemporaries. He says, "Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly" (Psalm 106:6). For more than thirty verses he'll go on to recount how his ancestors sinned. Afterwards, the psalmist prayed that God would "save us" (106:47). The we and the us means himself, the people he knows today and those who have gone before him. At first glance you might wonder why he's so keen on remembering what past generations have done. We don't get a sense what his exact sins are. But doesn't the psalmist know something about himself? That he can be just like his ancestors. He's learned to be as impatient with God as they were. As unfaithful as the examples he'd been brought up with. And maybe he doesn't want to be if it means keeping him from giving thanks to God's holy name (106:47). Save us, O Lord our God. Stay blessed...john