How Can Both Be True?

Ezekiel 18:19-22

“‘What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the child pay for the parent’s sins?’ No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live.  The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness.  But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done.

Exodus 20:4-6

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.  You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

Moses proclaims during his announcement of the ten commandments given by God that “I [God] lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.”  Perhaps a couple thousand years later, Ezekiel announces a message from God that “the child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins.”  Which is correct? Has God changed his mind? 

The answer is that there is truth in both pronouncements.  We all know children who have had to suffer for the terrible life choices of their parents.  Perhaps some of us have been those children.  We see examples of how these kinds of repetitive choices reverberate suffering through multiple generations of a family (abuse, addiction, etc).  Moses, on cue from God, is driving home that our actions don’t happen in a vacuum.  They affect our children and our grandchildren and beyond.  This ought to make us shudder.   This ought to make us more committed to making life-giving choices vs. life-degrading choices.

Ezekiel, also prompted by God, reminds us of the danger of taking this idea too far.  If I’m paying for my parents sins, then I am a hopeless victim.  I have no way to make my life better.  That is not God’s heart.  God says to all.  You and you alone are responsible for your actions.  Likewise, your parents, not you, are responsible for their actions.  You can be what we call today a “transitional” person.  You can break the cycle of suffering in your family by making different choices.  Your legacy to your descendants can be better (or worse) based on your choices.  This ought to make us more committed to making life-giving choices vs. life-degrading choices.

This is one of those conversations the Bible has with itself that points us to deeper truth.  We need nuance here and nuance is painfully in short supply these days.  It is possible to believe that my actions have consequences for my great-grandchildren AND that those sweet great-grandchildren have to be responsible for their own choices.  It is possible to believe that black lives matter AND blue lives matter.  It is possible to believe that protests are a healthy and necessary part of a democratic society AND that violence and looting is not.  It is possible to believe in the right to bear arms AND appropriate gun control.  It is possible to believe in personal liberty AND wear a mask to protect yourself and others in the midst of a global pandemic. It is possible to be a member of and believe in the ideals of a particular political party AND believe that a candidate from another party is more worthy of your vote in a particular election.  We need less EITHER/OR thinking and more BOTH/AND thinking.  We need nuance.

Being people of the Book should make us more nuanced followers of God because God is nuanced in the Word.  And God knows we need more nuance right now.

Prayer:  God, help us have a nuanced faith that makes us more compassionate and merciful in our choices.  May our descendants inherit a legacy of faithful nuance.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for those killed and those still in danger caused by all the fires out west.

Song:  Love Train feat. Jason Mraz, Chad Smith, Yo-Yo Ma | Turnaround Arts | Playing For Change