Door County Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee is brewing downstairs and it won't be very long until I
enjoy my morning cup and eat some Cheerios.
Proverbs 22:6 King James Version (KJV)
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
My grandfather is the one who taught me most of my fishing skills. I recall a time when I was about 9 years old when he was explaining to me how to tie a proper knot to hold a hook on my line. He must have explained it to me fifteen times and just when I thought I had it right, a fish would bite and my hook would fall off of the line. He chewed me out a little and explained it to me again, with the same results. Later that summer my older cousin took me fishing and he was watching me tie a hook on and he stopped me and said, "let me show you how to do that". It took about a minute with me watching closely and before I knew it, I had finally grasped the art of tying a hook to my line.
I had to watch someone do it. Verbal teaching just did not cut the mustard for me. Now if it takes watching to learn a good thing, think about what children watch and observe that is not a good thing. How about the cruise control on your car? The speed limit reads 65 miles per hour and they see you set it at 70 miles per hour counting on a grace curve of 5 miles per hour. Is 70 miles per hour actually legal? No it is not. So by watching us and without saying a word you taught a child that disrespecting the law is ok. We preach at them, but they like many act out what they have observed.
There are so many things we teach by our actions, without saying a word , that can influence and condone bad behavior in children. Children learn and justify actions by what they see from those they live with. They also observe friends and imitate them too.
We can drag them to church and Sunday School but do they see us worship and pray with full attention? Do we blow off church in order to sleep? We are teaching again without saying a word. They will imitate what they see. This is usually associated with toddlers yet this behavior is practiced by kids right into their adult lives. We need to police our actions. We are being observed!
God bless,
Marty
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