Beech Tree News Network

What if you knew of people who were trying to be just like you? What if folks wanted to dress like you, act like you, talk like you, be employed at the same place, live in the same town you live in, etc.? What would you think of people like that? Do you think this would be a wise thing for folks to do? Would you encourage people in this pursuit? Why or why not?

Do we realize that some people are exactly like those we have described above? Those who so often want to be just like us are our children! How many times have we as parents heard our children tell us, “I want to grow up to be just like you.”? While this is nice to hear from a little one, in the back of our minds, parents are thinking, “Oh, no, you don’t! I have this fault, and that fault, etc.” Perhaps we think, “Don’t be like me; be better than me.” Of course, in all things, we need to point our children to Christ (Eph. 6:4), encouraging them to be like Him in all things (I Pet. 2:21-22). He is the greatest example of all!

So many times, though, our children will look to us and strive to be like us. Children will often talk, walk, and act like their parents. Much of this is an unconscious act, but children also make conscious choices to be like mother or father. I have seen that even into “old age,” some folks still look and even act like their parents!

Having said this, does this not place some needed pressure on parents to make sure our examples are correct before others? Matthew 5:16 (“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”) applies just as much in the home as anywhere else! This is also true of Matthew 7:12 (“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets”) and Colossians 3:9 (“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds”)! What do our children see in us? They are often but “mirrors” of what they see and hear in the home. So, what are they seeing and hearing?

Let us expand this thought a little more. What if other people, not just your children, were looking to you to see how to act? What if folks wanted to be “just like you” in the area of being a Christian? (Are you a Christian, Mk. 16:16?) What then? What would they see?

What are these little ones (and not-so-little-ones) seeing when they look at you? Are you teaching them the importance of Bible study (II Tim. 2:15)? Are you teaching them the importance of worshipping God (Jn. 4:24; Heb. 10:25)? Are you teaching them to control their anger and their tongues (Eph. 4:26-27; Jas. 3)? Are you teaching your children the need for acting on what they have learned (Phil. 4:9; Jas. 2:24, 26)? Or, do they see someone who “says and does not do” (Matt. 23:3) when they look at you? Someone is trying to be “just like you!” What is this little one going to be when he grows up?

-- You are invited to visit with the Caneyville church of Christ. Times of services: Sun.: 10:00 am, 10:45 am, 5:00 pm; Wed.: 7:00 pm. Website: http://caneyvillechurchofchrist.com Tune in to our radio program 101.5 FM at 5:30 am, Mon-Fri. Questions? Call: (270) 589-4167