Impress and Imprint

A man by the name of George, whose marriage has gone through rough times. One night George passed a breaking point and emotionally exploded. He pounded the table and floor. "I hate you!" he screamed at his wife. "I won't take it anymore! I've had enough! I won't go on! I won't let it happen! No! No! No!"
Several months later my friend, George, woke up in the middle of the night and heard strange sounds coming from the room where his 2-year-old son slept. He went down the hall, stood outside his son's door, and shivers ran through his flesh. In a soft voice, the 2-year-old was repeating word for word with precise inflection the climactic argument between his mother and father. "I hate you ... I won't take it anymore ... No! No! No!"
George realized that in some awful way he had just passed on his pain and anger and unforgiveness to the next generation.
The best way to give our children loving Christian instruction is by the lifestyle we ourselves lead.

"Impress, imprint." As parents we must make an impression on our children. As parents we must set an example for our children. If we don't want our children to swear and to fight, then we ourselves cannot. If we want our children to be honest and to speak the truth, then we ourselves cannot be dishonest and full of lies. If we want our children to have a close and living relationship with God, then they must see us having that kind of relationship.