Wednesday; September 29

As I was driving to work the other morning, I suddenly realized that I was listening to my parents’ music. I have several ways of playing music these days, but many of them are loaded with music that my parents would play when I was a child. Sure, being a child of the 60s and 70s I developed my own appetite for music (everything from Disco to the Urban Cowboy sound); but fifty years later you will find artists like Herb Alpert, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and the Platters featured on my playlists. My parents didn’t force me to listen to these artists but I couldn’t help but pick up their tastes living in their house. A couple days ago, I was recently talking to my son who had plans to attend the Jimmy Buffet musical, “Escape to Margaritaville” and realized I had passed on some of my musical tastes to my children as well.
As I thought about my musical influences, I was reminded of a proverb, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). Music isn’t the only thing that flows from one generation to the next. When we reflect back on the main influences in our lives, most of us will quickly see the influence our parents have had on us. I learned many of my values and principles from my parents and I assume our children were influenced by us in the same way. There may not have been an intentional explanation of why we thought the way we did, but the influence created a worldview that carries over from one generation to the next. First, we learn it; then we live it.
What are we passing on to our children? Musical tastes can keep the golden oldies relevant beyond their release dates; but by passing on moral principles and godliness we can ensure a bright future for upcoming generations.

Think About It!

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