The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, "She is my sister"; for he was afraid to say, "She is my wife," because he thought, "lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold." – Genesis 26v6-7

It seems like we have been here before. There is a famine in Canaan and a patriarch of Israel heads to Egypt looking for food. The family stops in a Philistine region Gerar ruled by Abimelech and stays there. While there the man is so afraid that he will be killed for his beautiful wife that he lies about her being his sister.

Sound familiar?

It ought to. Isaac’s dad Abraham pulled the same stunt, not once, but twice. He did it before Isaac was even alive but here we see the same character flaw in Isaac as we saw in Abraham.

What causes that? Is it some kind of defective truth gene? Did Isaac inherit a familial disposition to lying? Wouldn’t it be great is scientists could map a liar gene in our DNA makeup so that we could genetically engineer a solution?

Well, maybe, I guess. I suspect though that it is much simpler than that. Even though Isaac did not see his father’s lies he did see his character. One of the greatest challenges to parenting is the very obvious truth that our character is going to impact our children. Apparently, judging by the Biblical evidence, Abraham had a knack for stretching the truth.

I guess one of the worst things about our character flaws is seeing them reflected in our children. I love my kids and am as proud as I can be of them, but they are not perfect. As I look at them I see so much to be proud of. When I do see their flaws far too often I see me.

The great thing is that it is not too late. I still have to opportunity to exhibit godliness and reflect His character to my adult children and their children. When we look back and see where we have blown it we can mope about our mistakes or we can move forward and by God’s grace be the example that we need to be.

We still have a chance. It is never too late.