II Samuel 12:10 NASB Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

I spent this past weekend with 11 of my cousins on our annual “Cariker Cousins Retreat.”  We had fun and shopped and laughed together, but we also uplifted and encouraged one another. It was another reminder of how blessed I am to have the family that I have. But it didn’t happen by accident. The values and love for family that my grandparents passed down to their children have been passed down to our generation and we will hopefully continue that tradition.

In contrast, I have been reading in II Samuel how David passed down certain values in his family. He used trickery and deceit in his affair with Bathsheba, ultimately having her husband killed, and Nathan the prophet said “the sword shall never depart from your house.” It is no accident that his children used trickery and deceit against each other and eventually against David himself.  

What family traditions are we passing on? It’s not too late to start new traditions for the next generation!

-Kevi

 

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