Do you know why some families are bent on a life of deception? Genesis 28-31

Genesis 30:1-4 (NASBStr)

 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “ Give me children, or else I die.” Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” She said, “ Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may have children.” So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.

We have before us the story of how Jacob fell in love with Rachel; how Laban (Rachel's father) deceived Jacob to marry Leah first; and, now how Rachel used her maid to produce children in her stead.    The family before us is a dysfunctional as any you might meet.   To put this story in full context you have to remember that Jacob's mom was Laban's brother.    After Jacob stole the birthright from his brother Esau, Rebekah assisted Jacob to deceive his father, Isaac, to steal the blessing also.   So, in the family you have the mother assisting the son in deceiving the father; the uncle deceiving the nephew; and now the wife using the maid to obtain a child.   The main dysfunction of this family was that they were not a family of faith.  This was a family that operated and gained what they wanted by acts of the flesh.  We might think that this is unique to this family, but we would be wrong.   Deception of each other based upon the flesh is apparent and affluent in all families.   We love to deceive to gain some advantage.  It is our nature.   God gives us some great understanding in this story about "how not to do it."   This family failed to believe in the promises of God and rather tried to manipulate their way to success and excess.   Jacob was named as a deceiver.   Properly the name fit and represented the entire family.   The only relief from this behavior is found in faith in Christ and, by faith, the walk in the Spirit.   We are all bent to be like this absent God's work in our lives through grace through faith.   Trusting God rather than our own conniving maneuvers is the life of faith.   We all try to change the stimuli to produce something that favors us.   God says no to this type of living and commands us to trust Him.   The life of the flesh is only replaced by the life of faith in Christ.