Yes, you read right. Last night my daughter made a phone call. Now while that might not seem from the outset to be overly impressive did I mention that she is ten months old? Somehow she was fooling around with my wife’s phone and before we knew it Kristy’s cousin was on the line. While it was surprising it really was no big deal. At least she did not call half way around the world and run up a huge phone bill. I know she did not think to herself, “I’m going to have some fun with these folks and deliberately make a phone call.” She is still much too young for that (though I’m sure it is to come). However, I do know that she is beginning to pick up on our actions and is learning to imitate them to some degree. That means we are entering a very sobering time of parenting.
The “do as I say and not as I do” mentality is a very tempting way for adults to rear their children. It means that parents have the freedom to still live as they want while verbally directing their children along proper pathways. But it never works. I have never known of a single instance in which a set of parents were successfully able to live depraved lives while teaching their children what was right. Most of the time the children turn out as rotten as the parents. The rest of the time the children turn out good despite the parenting, not because of it. The older Kenadie gets the more I realize that parenting is a total commitment. It means constantly being on guard mentally as well as morally. But while I have tried to do that anyway it really is eye-opening to realize that your words and actions now affect your own child. If she can pick up on something as minor as phone usage what else might she be remembering?
In Ephesians 6:4 Paul wrote, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” That verse explicitly states the responsibility of parents to properly train by discipline and instruction. However, who among us would not also recognize the implied responsibility of providing a proper example for them to follow. With the realization that there are now little eyes watching my every move with the possibility of imitating them, I must resolve to carefully control my words and actions so that I am not saying or doing anything I would not want her to say or do. It may have just been a simple phone call, but it sure woke me up.