Generational sins are recognized family patterns such as alcoholism, divorce, adultery, illegitimate births, and others. We receive from our parents—and then pass on to our children—family values, belief systems, blessings, curses, and patterns of behavior. The way we handle conflict in the family, forms of discipline, and family rules and responsibilities are preserved. Both the good and the bad are passed on from one generation to another.

The consequences of a parent’s sin will bring wounds to the children. When the children become adults, they in turn hurt their children in similar ways, and the consequences get passed on to the next generation. It is only through the intervention of the cross that the cycle can be broken, and the consequences can be replaced with blessings.

Some generational sins, such as alcoholism, are easy to see. However, some families with a history of alcoholism mistakenly view their present lives without alcoholism as breaking the cycle of sin. What they have overlooked, though, is the root cause of the alcoholism, which is numbing or medicating pain through compulsive behavior. The children may not have inherited the alcoholism, but they have inherited the addictive personality and find different compulsive behaviors through which to numb their own pain. The second and third generations simply substitute one compulsive behavior for another.

The good news is that whatever we have struggled with or identified as something that needs to be broken, we can find freedom through the power of the cross.

I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:5–6)

We ministered to one family that the wife was second generation illegitimate child, her daughter was third, and the granddaughter was fourth. We have had some seekers ask to break this pattern for their children. I have not seen this to be effective. Our children need to come to Christ and break the curse themselves. Therefore, when my wife and I were aware of what we had done to our kids we went to each one and confessed the sins of our past so they could pray and break them from their lives.