Born Free, Not Bound

I grew up with 3 older siblings. Unlike me, they hated cartoons, anime, and TV shows related to these genres. They considered it “too childish” and not good enough to make the most of their free time. So, they replaced it with Nigerian Movies. I’m not of the school of thought that Nigerian movies are bad, they just do not get to me. Sometimes, they let me have the TV remotes and other times, they forced me to watch their movies with them. In many Nigerian films we watched, one recurring theme is the accountability of sins. In those movies, you’d have a character suffering greatly. For example, the character graduates from the university with a first-class degree but keeps getting fired from every job. Good things never last in his hands, and when he gets tired of this life, he decides to consult the “oracle.” Interestingly, the oracle tells him that his father committed a grave sin and that he’d have to do some things, maybe make a sacrifice, to atone for the sins.

This lingered in my head and had me pondering. I mean, this man didn’t commit any sin, the only thing he did was come into the world through his father. How is that his fault and what should he have done about it? This person was literally not there when his father committed the sin, so why should he suffer for it? Growing up, I found that really unfair and I still find it unfair now that I’ve grown older. I grew up in the western part of Nigeria, among the Yorubas who have some very intriguing traditions and myths. One of them relates to this topic: “Ogun Idile.” Generational curse. In simple words, generational curse refers to negative consequences passed down from one generation to another within a family. These negative consequences can be spiritual or psychological.

Meaning, that as long as you’re unfortunate to be born into that family, you get a taste of that generational curse. I have people attribute their bad luck to generational curse. About three years ago, I read a post on Nairalandforum about a guy who claimed he was dealing with generational curse. According to him, money cannot stay in his hands for more than 48 hours. Anytime he gets money, he spends it lavishly. He claimed to have lost over 30 million naira in the last 10 years and has been in debt for 8 years. When I was reading the post, I thought to myself, “You don’t have a spiritual problem, you just have a bad habit of spending money lavishly.” I was surprised when I checked the comment section and all of them were claiming it to be generational curse and that he needs deliverance.

Today’s Hive learners prompt asks us if children should be punished for the crimes of their parents. Children enjoy the blessings and joys of their parents, so why shouldn’t they “inherit” the sins, too? The accountability of sins from one generation to the next is a matter of opinion, with some people believing that children can inherit the consequences of their parents' actions, while others argue that each individual is solely responsible for their own sins. Like many, I feel it is unfair that children should inherit the sins of their parents; every individual should be responsible for their own sins.

Using a biblical allusion from the book of Ezekiel. In the Old Testament, people got punished for crimes they didn’t commit. “The fathers eat sour grapes, and their children’s teeth are set on the edge.” However, through Ezekiel, the Lord rejects this proverb. Hence, rejecting the concept of collective punishment. The lord rejects the old proverb and changes it to “… the soul who sins shall die.” I believe this is the right and just way of doing things. I mean, it wasn’t the children that ate sour grapes. They’d never seen the grape tree in their lives. It was their fathers who ate it, so why should they be punished for something they had no hands in? They didn’t even exist when the sin was committed. It is like catching a robber and going ahead to lock up all his family members because of his crimes. Very unfair, right?

I’m summary, in my opinion, it is unfair that children should be punished for the sins of their parents. Everyone should be judged based on their actions and choices, not anyone else’s.

Thanks for reading.