We are preparing to plant a vegetable garden. Brett, the kids, and I have been busy preparing the ground, finding the seeds we want to plant, and waiting for it to become warm enough to plant the seeds. We are excited to reap a harvest of spinach, carrots, broccoli, and squash this summer. How do we know we will get all those different veggies? Because we are planting spinach, carrot, broccoli, and squash seeds. Inside each of these seeds has the DNA for each vegetable we want to harvest. 

What Is DNA

DNA is the blueprint for life. Inside of you, you have all sorts of different DNA. Maybe you have DNA that says you have blue eyes and red hair like my son and youngest daughter. Perhaps you have DNA saying you have brown hair and brown eyes. You have DNA declaring you are tall or short, prone to hair loss (like my husband), and all sorts of features that make you, you!

Every single part of your DNA came from your mom and dad. I’m sure you recall the lesson in high school about genetics. Just in case, let me refresh your memory. Your mom gave you half of your genes and your dad gave you the other half. Genes are made of DNA.

Spiritual DNA Is Passed Down

Just like physical DNA is passed from parent to child, so spiritual DNA is passed on. The choices we make can actually change your DNA. I know that sounds impossible, but stay with me. During the course of our lifetime we choose to plant seeds of righteousness or unrighteousness inside ourselves. When we choose to trust Jesus and live a life becoming more like Jesus and less like the world, we plant seeds of righteousness. Those seeds, just like the spinach seeds, have DNA in them. They are planted inside us and produce fruit. We see the fruit of righteousness as love in the face of persecution, joy in times of hardship, peace that makes no sense, or patience for even the most annoying person we meet. 

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7:9‬ (‭NASB2020)‬‬ tells us, “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His faithfulness to a thousand generations for those who love Him and keep His commandments;” (emphasis added) When we choose to plant seed of righteousness, those seeds go down into who we are, changing our DNA to say, “we pass down fruit of righteousness to the next generation.” In fact that DNA is passed to a 1,000 generations! 

Righteous Seeds Are Passed Down

I can see this principle in my own life. I have the privilege of reaping the fruit of both my parents and grandparents planting seeds of righteousness in their lives and passing it down to me. My parents and grandparents all taught me how to live a godly life. My parents showed me as a young child how to love Jesus and follow him. I remember each morning when I got up seeing my mom sitting on the couch with her Bible open. She taught me how to pray for something and then expect to get an answer. My grandparents also influenced me throughout my life. My grandmother taught me how to hear from God and obey. She modeled having a conviction and standing by it no matter what others may think or say. They planted seeds in me that I can now see the fruit of those actions. 

Iniquity Is Passed Down

The reverse is also true. There are people who choose to put on the identity of their sin. This is called iniquity. Check out What is the Difference Between Sin, Transgression, and Iniquity for a better understanding of iniquity. We see this in people all the time. Think about cases where a man beats his wife and children, even when he doesn’t want to do those things. After talking with him, you find out his father and grandfather were the same way. Beating wives and children is the iniquity that has been passed down from generation to generation. This man’s grandfather planted seeds of the iniquity of violence and passed down that iniquity to his son and grandson. He changed his DNA to say, “I beat up people when I get angry.” 

How about addiction? Science tells us that addiction is genetic. How can something we do be genetic? Could it be that a parent planted the seeds of addiction in his or her family and passed on that genetic information to his offspring? 

Numbers 14:18 (ESV) explains how this happens, ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ (emphasis added)

I Had To Be Careful

Again, I saw this in my own life. The Lord revealed to me that I need to be extremely careful when it comes to drinking alcohol. I knew that one of my uncles was an alcoholic before becoming a Christian. I also knew that I have a tendency to become addicted to things like games on my phone. At one point in life I was even addicted to Dr. Pepper before God moved me to Ireland and forced me to quit.

In fact the Lord would often tell me I needed to stop drinking Dr. Pepper because if I didn’t it was going to kill me. I would reply, “I know I need to quit, but I can’t.” The truth was I didn’t really want to. So, he moved me to a place where it is really difficult to get Dr. Pepper and I quit. Now I can’t stand the taste of it! 

Then, last year, I went to see Don Dickerman in Dallas, Texas for deliverance. A friend of mine suggested Brett and I go so we could get our house clean and learn how to do deliverance. While I was there, one of the demons inside of me was a demon of addiction. He was cast out and now I am free from him forevermore! At the time I did think it was strange that a demon of addiction was floating around inside me. Thankfully I never gave him any real power over me. It was solely because God warned me to never start drinking alcohol to begin with. (Not to say I’ve never tried it, but I never made it a part of my life and I never even take a sip of it now!) 

My Family History

A few months later my Grandmother came to visit us. While she was here she told me the story of her dad becoming a Christian. He was a miner in Oklahoma and would sometimes go to the bar after work. She recalled being afraid of him when he came home drunk and would try to avoid him.

One day he was involved in an accident that crushed his leg. The bones inside his leg were completely decimated. He was told he would never walk again, and was put in a cast to stabilize his leg. Shortly after that incident a revival preacher came to town. My great-grandmother and my grandmother’s sister went to the revival. They were saved and later took my great-grandfather to the revival as well. He was also saved. In fact he was sozo saved! God healed his leg, delivered him from alcoholism, and made his spirit be born again. He received the full salvation package! 

After hearing this story, I finally understood why my grandmother was always so repulsed by alcohol. She would tell me it physically grieved her when anyone in her family drank. I never understood why until that moment. I also understood why the Lord was so adamant that I never even sip alcohol, and why that demon of addiction was living inside me. 

Our Actions Affect Our Descendants

The Lord warned Moses and the Isrealeites to be careful of the seeds they plant. Yes, he is slow to anger. Yes, he is full of love and mercy. However, the seeds we choose to plant will reap a harvest. That harvest will affect future generations. ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34:6-7‬ (‭NLT‬‬) “The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.””

The Lord is gracious and forgives us of all iniquity. Our job is to choose to identify with who God says we are and take off the identity of whatever iniquity we have partnered with. (Or our parents and grandparents partnered with) Psalm 32:2 (ESV) reminds us, “Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

What About You

Where is your identity found? Do you identify with the sins of your parents or ancestors? Have you surrendered to the identity that you have a temper because of your heritage, or you just can’t help but have that glass of wine before bed because it’s a part of who you are? Do you identify with the fruits of the Spirit? Do you declare yourself to be patient, kind, and self controlled? What seeds are you planting for your children and grandchildren? 

The good news is you can choose to take off your false identity and put on your true, God given identity. All you have to do is decide what God says about you is actually true. Start proclaiming who he says you are instead of who your family or friends say you are. That my friend is called repentance. Do what Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV) says, “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Let’s all go plant seeds of righteousness so our kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and on and on to the 1,000th generation can reap the sweet fruit! Be blessed my friends!