Train up a child in the way they should go…
This is a promise from the scriptures that every Christian parent has clung to since the church’s birth and every Jewish parent since Solomon first put the collection of wisdom together. Parents have worked diligently to teach their children actions, habits, and thought processes. Unfortunately, some fail to remember that this goes beyond active teaching; much of what is taught is passively taught.
There are many things that you passively pass down to your children. As an adult, I realized that I often use humor to defuse stressful or terrible situations. I’ve also learned that I am often bothered if my kitchen is cluttered and not cleaned. These sound silly, but these are things my parents have taught me passively. They never said, “if you’re stressed, make a joke out of it.” They never said, “If your kitchen is messed up, it needs to bother you.’ These are things that I observed and taken on.
This goes beyond the parent-child relationship. Children pick up habits and mindsets from friends, leaders in their life, and media influencers. They pick up patterns and philosophies from others simply by observation. Thus, we are all responsible for the raising up of the children in our lives. Neices, Nephews, neighborhood kids, students you teach, young people you work with, and kids at your church; are all watching you.
The question is, what will you do with this information? Will you be intentional about how you act and talk around the younger generation? Because like I said…
They’re watching you.