Isaac makes a mistake identical to a mistake his father had made...ironically enough, towards the same people...(Abraham's version of the story can be found in Genesis 20)
I ponder, because Isaac's mistake was made some 90 years after his father initially pulled the same stunt. Isaac obviously wasn't witness to his father's blunder, and the Bible never refers to Abraham ever doing it again once he was called out on it. This leads me to wonder if Abraham, through other seemingly unrelated examples, passed this behavior to his son...or if it's just coincidence...
It serves as a reminder to me that our behaviors are what influence our children; their ability to avoid our past mistakes rests heavily on our ability to change ourselves and to teach by a healthier example.
I have changed my circumstances drastically since having Gavin. He will never witness me making mistakes that I had previously made. But he can still learn the behaviors that led me to my mistakes. He will most likely find himself in some, if not most, of the same situations that I had found myself in. But how will he choose?
I'm sure that Abraham didn't think he needed to sit Isaac down and have a chat with him about passing his wife off as his sister...and I'm sure that Abraham would look at his son, wagging a finger at him, and say "This is not how I taught you to be."
Most importantly I realized that we can live a seemingly better life and still not properly equip our children to make different decisions than we had made.
I know that the more I grow in faith and obedience to God, the more that my outward actions and behaviors will change. I must keep this as a constant goal, for my children's futures are at stake.
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