One of my favorite things about growing up in a Korean immigrant church was that the church community was my family’s extended family in America. As a kid, this meant that I could count on collecting gifts of money at church on Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Lunar New Year’s Day. At first, I would feel shy and grateful when receiving the gifts. Then, as a teenager, I would feel awkward but secretly happy to receive them.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that these gifts were the means by which my parents’ peers blessed my parents — by giving to me.

In the Bible, there are various passages about inheritance. We read a lot about both blessings and curses that pass through generations; about the inheritance of the physical as well as the inheritance of the spiritual.

A question that often arises in the counseling and psychology world has to do with the phrase “nature versus nurture.” Are we who we are today because of the genetic makeup that we’re born with? Or, are we who we are today because of our environment, influenced by our upbringing and exposure to various external factors?  Of course, the common belief is that it is the combined effects of nature and nurture that create our current unique individual states.

In the Old Testament, there are verses about the inheritance of punishment or the repercussions of missing the mark on the way God intends us to live. For example, “[the Lord] does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation” (e.g. Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18). It’s no wonder the disciples asked Jesus the question, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2, NIV).

There are also verses about the inheritance of blessings or fruitful benefits of living in the ways God intends us to live. For example, in the story of Noah: “Then God blessed Noah and his sons…” (Genesis 9:1). In the story of Abraham, God says, “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky…” (Genesis 22:17);. And the list goes on.

In my work as a therapist, I often ask clients about their family history. We create a genogram (like a family tree), and explore the ways that parents’ and their parents’ generations have played a part in influencing the family’s current state. We identify both the strengths and weaknesses in the family, and seek ways to maximize on the beneficial family values for the children who will inherit them. We do this because it is important for us to grow through an awareness about the way past generations have influenced who we are today.

I wish I knew more about my family’s history beyond my grandparents’ generation. While I know that three out of four of my grandparents were Christians before their earthly death, I don’t know anything about the beliefs and traditions of their parents (my great-grandparents). On top of my spiritual inheritance through my parents and their parents’ faith, I also inherit through their culture. I inherit from my parents’ Korean culture, I inherit from my parents’ transition into America as immigrants, and I inherit from my upbringing in New York City. I also inherit from the family of believers that I grew up around and the communal family that I am in relationship with today. My inheritance shapes who I am, and it especially shapes the lens through which I seek to understand God and the world around me.

I’ll leave you with this final note as an encouragement to you, my family in Christ:

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” – Colossians 1:9-14

Oh, and as you may have guessed… I love to give gifts to my friends’ kids.

Liz Chang resides in Seattle, WA and works for Navos as a substance abuse prevention & intervention specialist at a local middle school, and as a child and family therapist. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a Masters of Science degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, and is working towards certification as a Chemical Dependency Professional.