WORD TO DADS ON LOVING OUR CHILDREN: Here’s how one man cut the grass in his back yard. His sons wanted him to play ball, but he needed to cut the grass. He said he’d pitch the ball, and while the boys hit and fielded the ball, he would make one cut around the back yard. Then he’d pitch the ball again and make another cut. It took a little longer to mow the yard, but the boys had fun playing ball. “The boys won’t remember me cutting the grass but they will remember my playing ball with them.” Harmon Killebrew is one of the all-time great home run hitters in the game of baseball, and several years ago he was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. During his speech in the ceremony, he told about how his dad used to go out and play ball with him and the other boys all the time when he was growing up. And then he told how one day his mom hollered out the window to them, “You’re killing the grass!” His dad hollered back and said, “We ain’t raisin’ grass, we’re raisin’ boys!” Isn’t it interesting that Killebrew remembered that statement by his father? It says a lot about his dad’s priorities and about what kind of impact his father had. My guess is that with a model like that, Harmon himself is probably a fine father too. There are three ways children learn. The first is by example. The second is by example. And the third—you guessed it—is by example. The power of parental example simply can’t be overstated. Albert Schweitzer was asked whether he thought example was the most powerful thing in motivating a person to change. He replied, “No, I don’t think it’s the most powerful thing. I think it’s the only thing.” Dads, we’re models to our children whether we like it or not. Our example will be positive or negative, or most likely a mixture of the two. We choose what kind of example we’ll be. Let’s determine to follow the example of Christ as closely as we can so we can say with Paul, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (I Corinthians 11:1). -Adapted from Willard Tate. -Via Wapanucka church of Christ bulletin. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 23:39:15 +0000
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