The idiom “the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children” is used to say that children often suffer for the bad things their parents do. This idiom is perhaps derived from the Biblical “Sins of the fathers” that primarily finds reference in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers to ancestral sin, the sins or iniquities of one generation passing to another. The idiom may also be related to the doctrine of ancestral sin or generational sin according to which individuals inherit the judgment for the sin of their ancestors. The Bible speaks of generational sin in Exodus 20:5, which states that “the iniquities of the fathers are visited upon the sons and daughters — unto the third and fourth generation.” This concept implies that “unresolved issues get handed down from generation to generation.” Theological scholars say that Jesus, the bondage breaker, is able to break the cycle of this curse but the idiom has come to stick around nonetheless. Apart from the theological interpretation of what the phrase means, it has now become an idiomatic expression. We know that an idiom is an expression with a figurative meaning that differs from the literal meaning. As such, this idiom can be understood as a figure of speech to say that how one generation lives their lives will definitely impact the lives of the next generation; or, conversely, how a generation lives their lives is partly because of how the previous generation lived. For instance, if a generation is given to living their lives without ethos and principles, the generation that comes after them will inherit a society given to callousness and corruption – so to say. On the other hand, if a generation lives their lives with integrity and uprightness, the generation that comes after them will inherit a polite society. At the individual level, for instance, if a father is a man of his word, his children will grow up to become worthy members of the society. But if a son is living a wayward life, it begs the question of his upbringing.
There is a beautiful Greek proverb that says, “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” This proverb is in contrast to the above mentioned idiom. However, both of these phrases talk about generational issues in that what one generation does today will have bearing on the next. An old man at his advanced age knows that he will not live long enough to see the tree he is planting today grow and give shade or bear fruits. Yet, still, he plants the tree – so that the generation that comes after him would enjoy the shade or the fruits of his labor. At the societal level too, if old men work for a better society or community, even though they know that they will not be around for long to see the transformation, they are akin to the old man in the Greek proverb – doing something good for the generation to come after them. The point here is that we must selflessly do what is good, just and right, even though we may not directly benefit from it. We are the link between the generation that has gone before us and the generation that is to come after us. The question now is, will the next generation inherit our inequities or our virtues?
