Be Yourself…..

I recently heard that humans and chimpanzees share 99% of DNA with humans. And according to science based religions we came from them. I understood we all came from the same building blocks- the dust of the ground, so of course we should have similar DNA to all. But it is not the 99% we should focus on but it is the profound difference we should focus on. The 1%. God made all animals and mankind on the same day, the 6th day. So no surprise of similarities there; but God gave man a spirit, to communicate with him Gen 2: 7. Man instantly spoke and communicated with his creator, something, the 1%, he never gave to any other of his creation. He made us separate and individual from all other creation. God made us in his image, Gen 1: 27; yet Adam made children in his image Gen 5: 3. That image, is tainted with the sin of Adam, so Seth = Image of God, plus image of his father Adam, a sinner, = the image of man. We are all made in that image. But flash back to Gen 4. Here, there are 2 children of Adam, post fall, hence the image of Adam {Gen 5: 3(Image of God + Gen 3:6 Sin)}. 2 children, Cain, the firstborn, and Abel, the 2nd born (think of this in line of all Scripture when the 2nd born usurped the right of the 1st born). We could say….he is just like his father. He looks like him. He acts like him. He is his father’s son. Well, exactly which of the two men, Cain or Abel, were like their father, Adam? Were they not themselves? One killed, one did not. We are not our father, we are ourselves. That we have traits in common, is not surprising, but we are also separate and individual. So, to say that we have the DNA of monkeys, and act like our parents, are both correct. But we are neither monkeys nor our parents; we are ourselves. Sometimes it hurts when people say “you are just like your father”. Maybe that hurts as we do NOT want to be like them. When people say it to us, we scream on the inside “I am me!” Some children want to be like their parents, almost a competition. We can be the best at 25 or who can be the worst at 25. Life is not a competition. You don’t compete either with your children or with your parents. Be yourself. Have a look at Deut 5:9-10. Sins of the father or righteousness of the father flows down to succeeding generations. Yet in exactly the same book is you die for your own sin Deut 24: 16. So, we can get things from our parents, but ultimately, we are ourselves. We live as ourselves, we die as ourselves. We are accountable for our own lives. Yes, people should challenge us to be better people. We should also learn from the mistakes of others. But, let me explain. You cannot compare me to my father. Why? I never grew up in his time period. I never grew up in his house, he had his tests; he had his trials. I am not him. I have nothing in common with him except some DNA (and I have that with the monkeys too!). What I have is my own individuality. I make my own choices and decisions. I alone am accountable for them. I do not compete with my father as I am not him. I never had the circumstances of his up bringing. So ultimately, forge your own path. Make your own choices. You are not your father. You are you. Be yourself.

MCC Admin

28 Cheshvan 5781