Friday, July 02, 2010

sin of the father

my other colleague is stressed out.

in addition to clinic work & operating on patients, he has to catch a flight to kota kinabalu tonite. his daughter has been accepted into universiti malaysia sabah & he will accompany her to KK as orientation week starts on monday. so, he alternated between his clinic & the OT, trying to cover as much ground within the day.

as he talked about his flight plans, he related that he was supposed to be sent to sabah during his compulsory service but he managed to wrangle out of it. he then joked that his daughter now has to pay for his sin as he broke into a hearty laugh.

only that he didn't realise that he has unwittingly quoted part of the 2nd commandment:

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments. " exodus 20:4 - 6 NIV

i didn't have the heart to tell him the punishment may be passed down the next 2 generations.

but he must be relieved that ragging is now banned.

12 comments:

Unicorn Girl said...

Good for her and good for him [ in the advantages sense of course :) ]

About the ragging , I think this country is trying to compete with the other countries that I've read about......... but the again - the same old mentality prevails , wait till someone dies then take action......;(

doc said...

UG,

being a frugal guy, i think he's happy that his daughter got into a local varsity.

ragging can be a pleasant event but some seniors go overboard & that's why the freshies dread orientation week.

Loshini said...

ragging. one of his many worries when his daughter's away from home. wishing him well :)

fishtail said...

Ragging has been officially banned even when dinosaurs were roaming the earth; but the question is: is the ban being enforced?

doc said...

Loshini,

he has one less worry now. thks for your kind wishes.

doc said...

Fishtail,

i do hope the recent death has changed things a bit, but then if the varsities are anything like the NS camps, then we have not learned anything.

Anonymous said...

A recent ragging as reported in the newspaper resulted in the death of a young adult. So sad...

doc said...

Mei Teng,

that's why ragging in its violent/abusive form must be banned to prevent a repeat occurence.

Hello Kitty said...

Hi doc, how does a person who is in the receiving end (i.e. the generation that is paying for the sins of earlier generations) gets out of the punishment?

doc said...

Kitty,

that's a good question!!

despite the proposed punishment, God is also forgiving to those who love Him & keep His commandments. so, if the father or subsequent generations repent of their sin, God is slow to anger, abounding in love & forgiving sin & rebellion (Nu 14:18)

Even Moses disobeyed God & that's why he was not chosen to lead the israelites into the promised land in Canaan. that honour went to Caleb.(Nu 14:24)

Hello Kitty said...

So the child has to pay for the sins of his father and grandfather. But the child did not choose his or her father or grandfather. What if the father or grandfather does not repent or has passed on? The child will continue his suffering. I wondered abt this sometimes, when I see a child borne with certain deformity or illness.

Sorry for the rambling!

doc said...

Kitty,

according to the old testament, that was how God punished the israelites, & was a stern warning to them not to disobey His laws.

we really don't know the reason why some children are borned deformed; even children of faithful christians go thru that.

feel free to ramble....