What About the Family Tree?

Should we spend time looking into our past by studying our genealogy? Is it a waste of time to look into our ancestry? Maybe more importantly, we should ask if it is wrong to do so.

In the Bible, Paul’s letter to Titus says to avoid foolish controversies and genealogies (3:9). Similarly, Paul says not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies (1 Timothy 1:4). So on the surface, it appears that the New Testament view of genealogies is not a good one. We could get the impression that shying away from researching our backgrounds would be the best approach.

But this could not be the right interpretation since many other places in the Word uses genealogies to make a specific point. God would not use genealogies in one place in the Bible as a good thing and then turn around and pronounce it bad in another.

There is a case to be argued for both sides of the issue. Studying genealogy can be a fruitless activity, but it can also be beneficial and rewarding.

Good Reasons to Avoid Genealogy Studies

1). It can be time consuming. We live a busy lifestyle, and the last thing we need is one more activity to distract us from the important things in life. These types of studies by their very nature lead down many trails that require a significant amount of time in order to be accurate. Life is often about proper balance. Spending too much time on a particular activity obviously leaves less time for other things. Neglect of spiritual disciplines is a sure sign that our priorities are wrong. If researching family history is dragging us away from our quiet time with the Lord, then we should re-think what we’re doing.

2). It may produce some pride in our hearts. We may brag about ourselves to others or convince our own minds about how great our family bloodline is because of something extraordinary we’ve discovered in our background. This is exactly the argument Paul is making when he wrote to Timothy and Titus all those years ago. He was saying, “do not puff yourself up to others in your conversations because of your family stock… do not get in arguments and prove your points by bringing up all that stuff in your family line”. If the roots of pride start to grow by the study of our family tree, then we should check our hearts, evaluate our motivations and adjust our attitudes.

Good Reasons to Research Your Ancestry

1). We get to ‘know’ the relatives who have gone before us. There is no denying the fact that we are products of our forefathers. It’s a simple biological fact. We have their DNA. We may or may not resemble them. We may live in a different time and place, but maybe we think like they thought or act like they acted. Studying our genealogy may give us some clues to our own behavior or explain health issues. Walking in the shoes of our ancestors may be helpful in our own betterment.

2). Genealogical research is a case study in the sovereignty of God. The Bible has many sections of genealogies. If researching genealogies were entirely a horrible thing, the Holy Spirit would have excluded them from the Biblical record. But they are there for a reason. Much more than just another long list of impossible-to-pronouce names, we see God’s sovereign hand at work in each genealogy, just like we see Him at work in our own family line. My grandmother nearly drowned in her teen years. A distant great, great forefather was in a roll call list of Civil War enlistees at age 22, and survived the war. A harlot from Jericho, who was saved from destruction, shows up in the family line of Jesus. David also shows up in the family tree of Jesus. Saul wanted to murder him, but the sovereign hand of God did not allow it to happen. Think of all the what-if’s in the Biblical record or in our own family record. It truly is a mind boggling thought, but God is in control. We see this clearly as we scan through our own history.

The study of our family tree can distract us from our responsibilities, but there is a rewarding side to all of it. It can be a fruitful and enjoyable experience as long as we approach it with the right heart.