2 Kings 15:9 – And did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.

Lord God, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It becomes so clear from these chapters in the book of Kings. The sins of the fathers, going back many generations. The sons to the third and fourth generation – and even beyond this – fall into the sins that their fathers taught them. Lord God, my children and the other people in my life are learning from me even when I’m not teaching them. And what I teach them in the classroom, around the dinner table, and especially by my lifestyle will stay with them and with their children for generations to come. Keep me from evil and sin. Help me to get a hold of and gain control over the sins that seem to have a hold on me. Not only will these sins destroy me, but they can destroy those who learn from my sin. We’re a hundred years and more from Jeroboam, but his family is still stuck in his sin. I don’t want that for my children. I don’t want that for other people who see me live and listen to me teach. Help me to exert my baptismal power over sin so that it does not rule me. Help me to set an example for my children and others in my life to follow, so that through my life and through my teaching they might know you. Let the lessons that my life and my lifestyle leaves behind be one that points people to you. Amen.