What are you teaching those who walk in your footsteps?

Tom Crenshaw Sept. 27, 2024

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It has been said that character is who you are when no one else is looking.

Children are especially observant, and they learn from us even when we are not aware of it. That is why it's so important to recognize wherever we are, and whatever we do, there are little eyes watching and learning from us.

As parents, grandparents, teachers, or coaches, we need to be constantly aware that we are leaving footprints in which others will walk, and we must be vigilant in our efforts to always walk a path that provides a good example.

All this reminds me of a poem I read by Mary Rite Korzan taken from one of my favorite books, Stories for the Heart.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,

and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I saw you feed a stray cat,

and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I saw you make my favorite cake just for me,

and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I heard you say a prayer,

and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I saw tears come from your eyes,

and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I felt you kiss me goodnight,

and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I looked and wanted to say

thanks for all the things I saw

when you thought I wasn't looking.

Children first learn by example, then by explanation.

When the apostle Paul pastored the church in Corinth, he set a good example for those believers in love, devotion, sacrifice, and service.

Paul writes, "Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1).

Paul was a good example because he was following the greatest example of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.

How true it is that our actions and our attitudes don't always belie the fact that we are followers of the Master. Our beliefs are not always consistent with our behavior. Panic or peace, which does the world see in us as we address difficult situations?

A veteran pastor once said, "The reason the world does not know Jesus better is because it knows us too well." That hurts to hear, but I'm afraid it is more true than we would like to admit

Paul exhorts us in Philippians 3:17 "Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you."

It was Albert Schweitzer who said, "Example is not the main thing in influencing others—it is the only thing."

And finally, don't ever forget that "More depends on your walk than your talk" (D. L. Moody).

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Tom Crenshaw serves as Connections Pastor of the New Monmouth Baptist Church (non denominational) where he previously served as a three year interim.He has been married to Jean for almost 50 years, and they have four children, all of whom are teachers.Tom loves perennial gardening, umpiring high school baseball, coaching baseball and football, fishing for small mouth bass, rooting for his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians, and listening to ‘real’ country music, the classic kind. Learn More »

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