Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)
Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is
old he will not depart from it.
In his book, A Spiritual Clinic, J. Oswald Sanders wrote
about the lasting family legacies of two families from New York.
"Two families from the state of New York were
studied very carefully. One was the Max
Jukes family and the other was the Jonathan Edwards family. The thing that they discovered in this study
is remarkable: like begets like.
Max Jukes was an unbelieving man and he married a woman of
like character who lacked principle. And
among the known descendants, over 1,200 were studied. Three hundred and ten became professional
vagrants; 440 physically wrecked their lives by debauched lifestyle; 130 were
sent to the pen for an average of thirteen years each, 7 of them for
murder. There were over 100 who became
alcoholics; 60 became habitual thieves; 190 public prostitutes. Of the 20 who learned a trade, 10 of them
learned the trade in a state prison. It
cost the state about $1,500,000 and they made no contribution whatever to
society.
In about the same era the family of Jonathan Edwards came
on the scene. He was a man of God, who married a woman of like character. The
study yielded the following concerning Jonathan Edward's descendants: Three hundred became clergymen, missionaries,
and theological professors; over 100 became college professors; over 100 became
attorneys; 30 of them judges; 60 of them became physicians; over 60 became
authors of good classics; 14 became presidents of universities. There were numerous giants in American
industry that emerged from this family.
Three became United States congressmen and one became the vice president
of the United States."
Never forget the impact your life decisions will
make...in yourself, your marriage, and on your children. In ways you will never know in this life, you
are building a legacy that will last for generations!
Dear Lord, we ask for guidance as we make decisions. Help
them be the decision that You would have us to make. In the Name of Jesus,
Amen.
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