Have you ever noticed how families frequently share the same traits? I am not referring to physical traits. That is too obvious. But rather such things as professions, interests, strengths and flaws.

This occurred to me recently when I reflected on the fact that a friend of mine mispronounces (and misuses) the same words and phrases as her parents. She had inherited the hugely entertaining trait and is likely to pass it on to her children. It reveals itself at unexpected moments: the ill-employed idiom or a nicely placed (depending on one's perspective) Malaprop.

As I considered this, I realized that while in this case the inherited flaw was of minor significance and often humorous, there are those characteristics that are passed on from one generation to another that are not so funny: gossiping, negativity, addiction, poor marital or parenting skills, etc. Like mispronounced words, parents pass them on, as if genetically, to their children.

That this is so is obvious when you think about it. It is also biblical. Exodus 20:5 tells us that the sins of the father may affect even the third and fourth generations. This passage does not mean that God is actively seeking to do harm to the offspring of man; I think it instead means that we can create a pattern of evil behavior in our children (or ourselves be the recipients of it) as they may observe and repeat what we do.

On a positive note, the opposite is also true. It is much more likely that our children will conduct themselves with honor, integrity, and courage when they have observed those qualities in us.