The Power of Parental Example
Juan and Jeanine Sanchez
When I was young , my dad smoked several cigarettes a day . Personally , I hated the smell . Since my dad smoked , though , I thought it was cool . Naturally , I wanted to be like my father . So , I found a cigarette , borrowed a lighter , and hid in a corner . Being only six years old , my skills at operating a lighter were not strong . No matter how hard or how often I rolled my thumb across the striker to ignite the flame , nothing happened . Still , I must have made enough noise that a hand came down from heaven ( so it seemed ), picked me up by my shirt , and carried me through the air . It was my dad . It all happened so fast . Immediately , I knew I was in trouble . I never lit the cigarette , and to this day , I ’ ve never smoked . But as a six-year-old boy , I wanted to be just like my father . I had watched him smoke all my life to that point , and I wanted to smoke — just like my father . Such is the power of parental example .
Our children will mimic what we do — both good and bad . If we want to raise children according to God ’ s desire , we must provide a godly example . This is not to say that they will become godly by just watching us . Remember that they are born with hard hearts . They need new hearts . Still , by design , God has established that our children want to be like us , just as we were created to be like our heavenly Father . Let us , then , work to provide a godly example for them to follow .
The Root of a Godly Example
You cannot pass on what you do not have . Your children will see what flows out of your heart in good times and bad . And they will follow
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