Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children.
We know it’s true, but it’s good to be reminded… What you and I do today will affect future generations tomorrow. Your decisions will affect your children’s lives just as much as your parents’ decisions affected yours. Think about it.
In what ways did your parent’s decisions affect you and shape you, and in what ways will your decisions today affect your kids’ lives as they grow?
Your children and grandchildren deserve that you think today of them tomorrow. They deserve that you leave something behind worth desiring.
Here are three ways that you can Pay it Forward to the next generation:
1. Stay CLOSE
I’m specifically talking about staying close to God. The greatest heritage you can pass down to your children and grandchildren is the spiritual legacy of a godly parent or grandparent who knew how to walk with God.
Maintaining your relationship with the Lord will by far leave a greater impact than anything else you will ever do, because your relationship with God will affect every other earthly relationship you have, including your relationship with your children.
Children naturally learn by imitation, so give them something worth imitating.
Teach them both by example and instruction how to walk with the Lord. Pray with them. Let them see you reading your Bible daily. Take them to church every week. Sing when it’s time to sing. Give when it’s time to give. Serve when given the opportunity. Remember…
More than your children will become what you say, they will become who you are.
2. Stay ENGAGED
I’ve heard it said before that it’s quality time, not quantity time that really matters, but I’d have to disagree. It takes both.
Your kids don’t just need a great vacation and expensive memories; they need your presence on a daily basis in their lives – loving them, speaking into them, spending time doing the day to day activities that make up what we call life.
Our family has taken some great vacations over the years to Disney World and other places, and we’ve made some amazing memories. But the real memories that will not just affect their mind, but influence their heart, are the memories of a dad being home when it was time to be home, wrestling on the carpet, swimming in the pool, and reading the Bible together.
Deuteronomy 6:7 makes this very clear, that we are to invest quality and quantity time into our children by teaching them “when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
One of the most powerful guarantees to successfully raising children is intentional and engaged parents.
3. Stay FIT
This one is often overlooked, but is of utmost importance if you want to maximize your ability to pay it forward. If you kick the bucket 10-15 years early because you didn’t take care of your body, God’s temple, that’s 10-15 years of time and influence that you have lost investing into future generations of your family.
My grandpa started smoking when he was 12 years old, and he continued until he was in his 60’s. The only thing that caused Grandpa to stop smoking “cold turkey” was the day that his last grandchild, my sister, Ashley, was born. Something in him clicked, that if he wanted to live to see this little angel grow up, he’d have to make some changes.
Wherever you are in your life’s journey, don’t wait to start taking care of your health. Exercising, eating right, and staying fit are not necessarily vain characteristics like some Christians might try to make them out to be.
Taking better care of my body today allows me to take better care of my family tomorrow.
How are you Paying It Forward to the next generation?
