Matthew 23:29-33 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous. And you say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. So you witness to yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. And you fill up the measure of your fathers. Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How shall you escape the judgment of Hell?”

This is the last of the eight woes to the Pharisees. Jesus starts by commenting on how the Pharisees built tombs of the prophets and adorned the tombs of the righteous. This was their way of showing respect for the character of the person in the tomb. The Pharisees also publicly expressed their displeasure or disagreement of the conduct of their fathers. By expressing their displeasure in the actions of their fathers they admitted that they were the children of those men. But all of this was done as a show of holiness, or righteousness, because these men were guilty of doing some of the same things their fathers had done.

Jesus then tells them that they are living up to the reputation of their fathers. Instead of learning from the mistakes of their fathers, they continued to do the same thing. They persecuted people, kept the same strict laws, which created hardships for many of the people. They also tried to keep people from following Christ. Their own actions were so bad that Jesus called them serpents and offspring of vipers. He then asked "How shall you escape the judgment of Hell?" If the Pharisees continued on the course they were taking, that course was the road to hell.

In today's society everyone wants to blame the parents for the actions of the adult children. While it is true certain tendencies are passed down either by genetics or environment, it does not mean each person is doomed to be just like their parents. It is our Heavenly Father we are to keep our eyes on and desire to be like. And that is not an impossible goal. When we spend time every day asking God to make us into the person He had planned us to be, He will do exactly that. He has the power to overcome anger, selfishness, snobbery, self-righteousness, adultery, or any other character found in families.

The Pharisees were guilty of not learning from the mistakes of their fathers. When we don't learn from the mistake of our parents or grandparents, and ask God to completely change us and make us into the person He desires us to be, we are also just as guilty as the Pharisees. The person who throws up their hands and says, "Oh well, my parents did that so I guess I'm doomed to do it." is the person who is taking that course to hell.

A person cannot ask once to be changed and then go on about their lives, never asking again. They must be committed to asking daily for those changes. By asking daily, or several times a day the heart and mind is kept open so the changes can take place. In time a loving, gracious, merciful heart will develop in the person. Don't focus on your parents' mistakes. Focus on God. Cling to Him and He will make a new creation in you.

"Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come".

2 Corinthians 5:17 (Good News Bible)