My wife and I decided to go to Denny’s for breakfast this noon and play the “Who Went to Church Game.” Fifty years ago this game was much easier because most of the men would be wearing a necktie, but that custom has waned making the game more difficult. There was one elderly gentleman, anyone older than me, who was sporting a nice suit and tie. He and his wife were easy. There was another young couple with two girls wearing nice dresses. Surely they had to be. Then there was another couple with a boy. I hope they had not just come from church because much to my amazement they walked out without paying. I could barely believe what I watched. Now I am going to make an educated guess that twenty years from now one family will have two wonderful brides and another family will be lucky not to have a jailbird.
I realize there have been many debates through the decades regarding nature versus nurture. Just how valuable is role modeling versus inheritance? Most of us have come to the conclusion both are extremely valuable. Not only do our children arrive in this world with our predispositions but they also watch us. Speech and behavior patterns are copied and become a blessing or a curse to the next generation.
I have talked with many people through the years who have longed to write a book so they could leave a legacy to the world after they are gone. A book can become a musty old object that fills our basements with unsold copies or sits on a freebie table at a yard sale. But a child grown to adulthood, now there’s a legacy!
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 26, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org