This past weekend Monica and I were visiting our family in Iowa. We stopped in a convenience store to pick up some pop(at least that's what I call it, you may call it Soda, Soda Pop, or Coke, which I could never understand, because we weren't getting Coke we were getting Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr. Pepper). As I was paying for the pop, the female clerk, who may have been in her late 20s or early 30s was very polite. She thanked us for the purchase and wished us a nice day, then she proceeded to turn to the female clerk next to her and say, "I'm just sick and tired of coming home to my 2 year old son saying, "I want to get drunk, I want to get drunk", all of the time.
It wasn't like I was trying to over hear the conversation. I heard it as I was turning around to walk out the door. Obviously, you don't hear something like that everyday and so it caught my attention like someone had just shouted "Fire!!". And as a parent myself, who grew up with an alcoholic father, I just cringed hearing it. Are you appalled? I know I was.What kind of man, and who knows if it was the father of this child or the boyfriend who was teaching this little boy to say such a thing, would do something like that? I'm betting he thought this was hilarious to get a 2 year old to repeat something like that. I bet he thought it was harmless fun. I bet he thinks it's no big deal or maybe he just doesn't care either way. I bet he has his own issues. I bet he doesn't understand that his choice to do that is negatively affecting this little boy and the boys mother. I bet he doesn't understand that it affects his relationship with the mother of the boy and/or his wife, girlfriend, significant other. I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm betting his father may have taken a similar attitude of caring and nurturing toward him.
Going back to the men's study last night, the study was about a parable of a father and son. The negative choices a father made that then negatively affected his son and his son's choices. The parable then showed the opposite affect, when the father made positive choices, first by choosing to follow Jesus Christ, and then more positive choices that followed and how that impacted his son to make positive choices, and how blessed they were because of those choices.
What chance does this 2 year old boy have at making the right choices in the future, if his father or father figure continues down the path he is headed?
Do we really understand, the kind of impact our choices make with our children, our wives, our friends, our significant others? Maybe it's not as dramatic as teaching a 2 year old to say something harmful. Maybe it's the unsaid things that make a difference good or bad. Maybe it's how we treat them. Maybe it's about how or whether we care about them. Either way you are making a choice. So let's choose wisely and consider the impact on not only our personal walk, but how our daily choices affect those around us. We will be held accountable for the choices we make, one way or the other. What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and length of days. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)
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