Model the behavior you want to see in others

I'm currently reading John Maxwell's book Change Your World.  Like most of his books, there is so much good information and ideas on just about every page. I just read this thought.

Motivation is overrated; environment matters more. We become like the people we spend our time with. If you grew up in a family of intellectuals, you probably tend to be a thinker who likes ideas. If you spend all your time around fit athletes, you probably value fitness and work to stay in shape. If your social circle is filled with high-caliber businesspeople, you probably talk about business and have a knack for it. If you're an artist, you probably gravitate toward other artists, and it fuels your creativity.

While there may be exceptions to this, I think it's pretty accurate for most of us. We become like the people we like to spend time with. We begin to use their language, dress like they dress, and focus on the things they focus upon. We find ourselves reading the same books they read, and, often, we begin to share their thoughts on political and religious issues. So much of our lives are shaped by our environment that it's important to be mindful of the environment in which we spend our time. It's also important to ensure that we provide the kind of environment that will shape the thinking of those who spend time with us.

The Babylon Bee, a Christian satire newspaper recently ran a headline that read "After 12 Years of Quarterly Church Attendance, Parents Shocked By Daughter's Lack of Faith." The article went on to say that they planned to talk to the pastor about their concerns as soon as their son's soccer season ends.

Graduations are now occurring in our area. One of the things I notice on social media is how many parents talk about how fast the time went. One day they are taking the child home from the hospital and the next day they watch their child receive his or her diploma. It does seem to almost happen that fast, and that is why it's so important that we provide an environment that will model the behavior we want to see our children have throughout their lives.

A family that makes God and church a priority will likely see that be a priority in their children's lives as well when they leave home. Children who grow up in a home where values and morality are taught and lived out are more apt to share those moral values. When parents model loving respect for one another and for others those attributes are more likely to be found in their children. It's often said that values are more caught than taught, and it is certainly true. What values are being caught by those who spend time around you?