Liar

Gen. 25:27-34 Gen. 27:1-40 Jacob and Essau -

The far-reaching effects of broken relationships / communication in families.

Rebekah sneaky too - taught her son well

Perhaps Isaac and Rebekah loved differently for selfish reasons

What do I get out of it

Abraham, Isaac and later Jacob blew it in parenting and it impacts us thousands of years later

Why do we lie?

to Rob others – of money, glory, honor

to inflate my own importance – not trusting God

to harm others – even white lies cause harm

Biggest liar of all is our heart – deceit flows from it

JER 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

We say "God knows my heart" and He does –

JER 17:10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

that is why He demands that it be replaced

Eze. 25-27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

What is the cure?

Trust God to provide all you need – how much is enough?

Determine that only God’s opinion of you matters – so discover it and stop managing your own image (idolatry) and start worshipping the Father

Love others deeply – enough to tell the truth in love

A few words to Parents

Set boundaries - get this right! You are the boss - like it or not.

Let God’s Word be your guide - not the culture!

Your kids won’t agree with your decisions - surprise! Don’t cave in

Your kids won’t understand your reasons - did you understand your parents reasons?

Those of you with kids - are your parents as dumb as you thought they were back when you knew everything?

Make them responsible - if you give them an allowance, make sure they understand tithing and make sure that they connect the allowance with the responsibility to do a reasonable amount of work in the home. This is the first time when kids had no expectation to help in the home - parents see themselves as providers of entertainment. Parents worst fear to hear their kids say "I’m bored"

Plan on helping pay for college?

Then make it based on your standards of performance

It is great to fund someone’s dream but it is foolish to fund their whimsy

It’s your job to make sure they get a religious education - more than go to church. We make sure they get their teeth brushed and go to get shots - YOU are HONOR BOUND and entrusted with a sacred human life - don’t let your kids set the agenda.

You will make mistakes - but set the baseline

Live and lead by your example.