They're Copying You
1 Kings 15:26
"And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin."
The only way that anyone can learn is through copying what someone else has done. For someone to say that they are their own person is ludicrous. Every time you learn something, you copied what someone else has done. So in essence, we are all copycats.
Years ago when I was taking my daughter to school, the sun was in my eyes, so to see clearly I grabbed my sunglasses so that I could put them on. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed my daughter grabbed her sunglasses at the very same time. I started to put them on, but stopped about halfway up. I noticed that my daughter started to put her sunglasses on, but she stopped halfway up. I then took my sunglasses and put them on my lap. I watched as she took her sunglasses and put them on her lap. Everything I did with my sunglasses she did with hers. The Holy Spirit used this incident to help me realize that my daughter was copying my life.
The verse above says that Nadab "walked in the way of his father." In other words, he copied the life of his father. Sadly, this young man didn't have much of an example to follow for his dad lived a wicked life. Because his father lived a wicked life, he lived a wicked life. The power of his father's example on his life was tremendous. If only his father would have understood the power of his influence, one would wonder if he would have changed his lifestyle.
Parents, your children are copying how you live. The power of your influence on your children is enormous. You may think that you can tell them not to do the bad things that you do, but they are learning how to live from you. Your actions speak louder than your words. You can tell your children how to live a right life, but they watch how you live and copy that more than what you say. That is why you must be sure that every action that you do in your house is something that you would want your children to copy.
Let me ask you, what will your children become if they copy everything you do? I am not just talking about what you do in public, but more importantly what you do in private. Children tend to copy the private lives more than they do the public lives. The reason being is because they are around the private lives of their parents more than they are their public lives. The public lives of their parents will either vindicate or condemn what they tell their children to do. You may think that your children don't see what you do, but you will be surprised how quickly they will pick up on your bad habits. They will copy what you do on the internet. They will copy how you treat your spouse. They will copy how you serve the LORD. They will copy how you talk in private. Your children are mentally recording everything you do, and they will playback what they saw when they become adults.
Young person, if your parents are not living right, then you should not copy their sinful lifestyle. Just because they do wrong, that does not give you an excuse to do wrong yourself. You are responsible for your own actions. If you are reading this devotional, then that means somehow you are around people who are living a right life. That means you have someone spiritual whom you can copy.
Parents, if your children are recording your present lifestyle, what will the playback be when they become adults? Be sure that what they are copying is worthy of their living. Moreover, young person, be sure to copy the good traits of your parents. There is no perfect parent, so learn to only copy that which is right in the sight of the LORD.