“If I get stoned and sing all night long, it’s a family tradition!” That’s what Hank Williams, Jr. sang, and he certainly followed in his famous father’s footsteps, both in great success as a singer and songwriter, and also in wrestling with addiction to drugs and alcohol. But all of our families can have a similar impact on us, either providing a big boost as we start out in life, or weighing us down with problems that are hard to shake.

Yes, the sad truth is that many people seem trapped by the dysfunctional family systems in which they were raised. Psychiatrists, for example, tell us that children who suffer physical abuse at the hands of their parents often seek out abusive people to marry.

On the other hand, some children are quite content to coast along on their parents’ and grandparents’ successes. This is even true where it comes to the Christian faith, as all too many people simply assume that because they grew up in the Church, they don’t have to worry about professing their own faith in Christ or trying to live in a way that pleases God. Whether they know it or not, they’re actually trusting in their parents’ faith to save them.

But in today’s passage, we see that everyone stands or falls based on his own relationship with God. A son will not be saved because of his father’s faith (Ezekiel 18:10-13). But at the same time, a son will also not be damned because of his father’s infidelity (Ezekiel 18:14-17).

Moreover, anyone who turns back to God will be saved, no matter how bad his sins or his family’s sins may have been (Ezekiel 18:21-22). It’s because God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked that He sent prophets like Ezekiel to urge people to repent and live (Ezekiel 18:23, 32).

In other words, no one is bound by any family tradition, either good or bad. So, let’s rely on God’s promises and seek His power to step out in faith and live our own life – a life of trust in Christ and obedience to God.

Ezekiel 18:19-23 (NASB)

19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity?’ When the son has practiced justice and righteousness, and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live.
20 “The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
21 “But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
22 “All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.
23 “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?