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not to be. They wi ll see your positive
examples- they will also see your
negative examples.
If your childrcn see you fight,
scream and have disrespect for one
another, they will think that's the
way husbands and wives are. After
all, it 's all they've ever seen .
Newbor n babies do n't have
instinct. Animals do. A newborn calf
or col t knows r ight where to go for
dinner.
It
will be up and walking
wi thin minutes because instinct has
been built into its mind.
Everything human babies learn
must be taught. By word. By exam–
ple. They learn the meaning of love,
caring, concern, warmth. They learn
how to smile, giggle, laugh and cry.
They can also Iearn anger, hostili–
ty, disrespe.ct.
They are constantly learning.
There is no better way for them to
learn how to be the right kind of
parent themselves than by the prop–
er examples you set for them. But,
you have to spend time with them to
teach by example.
The lmpo rtance o f Examp le
From creation, God has used the
technique of example to teach. We
can read the Bi ble, see the examples
and learn from them. On the other
hand, we can pass over theJ11 and not
learn the intended lesson.
The most important of all was the
personal example of Jesus Christ.
The apostle Peter said, "For to this
you were called, because Christ
also
suffered for us, leaving us an exam–
ple, that you should follow His
steps" (1 Pet. 2:2 1, RAV) . When
Jesus lived on the earth , he experi–
enced every human thought and
emotion. Pau l sa id J esus was
"tempted in every way, j ust as we
are- yet was without sin" (Heb.
4:15, N IY). By studying the life of
Christ, we can see how to live.
We have a perfect example to
follow.
At creation, there was another
important example. After six days
of creating, God on the seventh day
did something very special.
" By the seventh day God had
finished the work he had been
doing; so on the seventh day he
rested from all his work. And God
blessed the seventh day and made it
holy, because on it he rested from
all the work of creating that he had
18
done" (Gen. 2:2-3, NIY).
God had created Adam and Eve
on the sixth day. On the seventh,
they saw, by the example God set,
they should rest.
When Jesus carne, he said of the
Sabbath, "The Sabbath was made
forman, not man for the Sabbath. So
the Son of Man is Lord even of the
Sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28, N IY).
When God rested at the end of
creation week, he wasn't t ired. God
is spi r it- self-contained energy.
But as Creator, he knew mankind
would need to rest one day each
week- thus
by
example
God
showed what man should do and
when he should do it.
From c r eation God, through
patriarchs, prophets and New Testa–
ment apostles, showed by example
what todo and what not todo.
Let me use another ill ustration. 1
was talking with a ma n who
believed there was nothing wrong
with polygamy- having more than
one wife. I told him it was wrong.
" God never intended a person to
have more than one mate," 1 said.
The Eterna! God said, "For this
reason a man will leave his father
and mother and be united to his
wife, and they will become one
Aesh" (Gen. 2:24, N IV). Only one
man and one woman can unite in
mar riage and create one new family
unit. Not "they three" or " they
fo ur " - but "they two" sha ll
become one Aesh.
" Well," this man said, "you
can't show me one verse in the
Bible which says, 'Thou shalt not
marry more than one woman.' "
So, I turned to the Bible for
example. There were societies in
ancient times that permitted and
practiced polygamy. But there is
not one example in the Bible of a
happy and harmonious home where
this was practiced. By example, we
ought to see polygamy was not
right-never intended by God .
On almost every subject, there
are examples- ei ther negative or
positive-in the Bible.
You Onl y Have One Chance
If you have small chi ldren, spend
all the time you can with them,
showing them positive examples of
the right way to live. The years will
quickly go by. Children who are
toddlers today, tomorrow will be
graduating from high school. The
fi rst thing you know, you will be
concerned about college and mar–
riage. And you ' ll wonder where the
years went.
Our married daughter recently
told us somethi ng we had not
known before. Sorne years ago we
were transferred in our work twice
in JI months.
It
had been hard on
the family. But tbere were sorne
good things to come out of it. Our
daughter was 15 at the time.
Because of the new job, we spent
considerably more time together as
a family than we ever had before.
Last Father's Day she wrote,
" Daddy, 1 never really knew you
until we moved to Colorado. I'm so
glad we had the chance to spend
sorne time together."
Of course, it was rewarding emo–
tionally to realize that family !ove
we shared. But there was also a
deep hurt that 1 had not spent the
proper amount of time with her and
the other children when they were
younger. In many ways, 1 would
love to have those years over
again- but there is never a second
chance when it comes to time.
How many families have had to
learn that working long hou rs,
advancing in position or earning
more money can produce one of the
least desirable fruits of all-the Joss
of one's own children ?
What if parents become promi–
nent surgeons, successful attorneys,
respected professors or corporation
presidents?
So what?
So what , if along the way they
lose their children, maybe their
marriage and perhaps their health?
What has been gained?
We all desire to work hard and
obtain the best for our children.
But if reaching the top of the cor–
porate Jadder means sacr ific ing
children and family, it j ust isn't
worth it.
Now when 1 am asked by young
couples, "What is the
ONE
most
important point in child rearing?" 1
have an answer. 1 sti ll say there are
no magic formulas. And successful
child rearing will require old-fash–
ioned hard work. But if you want to
know the greatest gift you can ever
give your child, I'm sure it is your
time. Begin now to give that pre–
cious gift to your children. o
The
PLAIN TRUTH