Friday, May 16, 2003
Friday, May 16, 2003
So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through
God.
One of the best comic strips capturing mother-daughter relationships is that of CATHY, carried
in many papers. On one occasion Cathy says, "I love you Mom, but I'll never be like you. I'll never
think like you, I'll never act like you, I'll never look like you." And Mom says, "Oh, I know, I used to
say the exact same thing to my mom, and I wound up thinking just like her, acting just like her,
looking like her. See, you're just like me already." At this, Cathy runs from the room screaming,
and Mom says, "Oh, isn't that cute, that's just what I used to do."
That's scary, isn't it? But like it or not our actions as parents do speak much louder than our
words. We are modeling our children's future behavior. If there is some part of our life we regret,
some part that embarrasses us, some part that is destructive, and we are a parent, the time to
act is now. Every day we are teaching our children what is appropriate behavior. It is from the
family that we take basic Christian values.
(Galatians 4.7
NRSV)
The Bible said it best thousands of years ago: "Bring up a child in the way it should go and it will
not depart therefrom...." More often than not, that's true. And it is not simply because we are
good teachers. We often say, "like father, like son." Example is far more powerful than
exhortation.
Lord Jesus, continue to teach me the values I need to pass on to your children. Amen.
