Sheriff Gage

“The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.”
Proverbs 20:7

Sure didn't take long to spot our guest speaker sitting at the round table next to mine for our ladies political luncheon. It wasn’t so much his masculine presence as much as it was his attire; heavily-starched ecru jeans and white cotton shirt. His crown of white hair topped him off, but not as much as the 757 Magnum that rested on his hip. Yikes!

Sheriff Gage of Montgomery County gave new meaning to ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’. He took to the podium with unmistakable confidence. His first word captured my attention and respect as I listened to more than I ever wanted to know.

This modern-day Moses informed us of everything from new laws to completion updates of new prisons. Total number of arrest in 2009 was—17,000 men and 4,000 women, but more disturbing was to learn many of those were repeat offenders.

With a Texas twang and sense of humor he added, “I see granddaddies, daddies, and grandbabies come and go on a regular basis through those iron doors.” Then he smiled, leaned over into the microphone as if to let us in on a secret, and whispered, “We have a little fun in the unit matching up who goes with who and it ain’t very hard to do.”

Forty-one times in the Old Testament we see the phrase “generations to come.” No doubt generational sin can shake the whole family tree. Makes you wonder what it is that makes some trees function while others dysfunction. Could it be the condition of its roots?

“Are there any generational sins in your family tree that may be stunting your growth? How could those sins keep you from experiencing the kind of righteous living that will bless others?”