The future occupies much of our consideration, as well it should. Where we are headed is very important. As Bible-believing people, however, we certainly owe a look to the past. We have an obligation to those who have gone before us. We must always remember that no matter how hard we work and no matter how much we put into something, none of us are self-made men and women. We are all a product of what God and others have done in our life. We must teach our family to honor past generations.
There Are 5 Ways to Honor Past Generations:
1. By Being Willing to Have Children
“Children’s children are the crown of old men…” (Proverbs 17:6)
In order for there to be “children’s children” there has to be children. This verse reveals what is the crown of old men – Children! It is life’s most satisfying and crowning achievement to leave this world a better place through the blessing of Christ honoring descendants.
In God’s plan, there are some couples that are unable to have any children or perhaps He allows another couple to only have one or two children. Yes, in some cases God chooses other goals. In this event we know God has a plan for good and not evil and we give Him the glory, and understand that His way is best.
The typical plan, the Bible plan, and certainly the Bible example however, is to have as many sons and daughters as the Lord would give. We find that families in the Bible were large. David, for example was one of eight children. There were numerous characters that had a large number of children. We are told in Scripture that having children is actually a God-given desire. It is God himself that places a hunger in the hearts of people to have and want children. The prophet in Malachi 2:15 shows us the reason why God wanted children, “And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.” The context of this verse is God explaining to priests, who were claiming to be God’s men, why they should stay married. These men were divorcing their wives left and right and getting others. God warned them that this is not right, because He is looking for descendants to come forth.
One big reason God wants people to stay married is, because He looking for “godly seed.” He desires a man and woman to propagate, multiply, and to fill up the earth with children who live in such a way that they will become Godly seed. God wants you to have a Christ honoring home. The missionaries of tomorrow are the babies of today. Those who will be serving in ministry tomorrow are the ones on the cradle row today. God is saying in effect, “I want this world to be evangelized, I want this world to be given the Gospel, I want this world to know the truth. If children are born in a Godly home there is a much greater chance that they will grow up to love Me.” It is true that everybody has to choose the Lord on his or her own. They can’t be born into a Godly home, and then somehow automatically be accepted into Heaven, but we can give children an appetite for the things of God by feeding them Jesus!
Older people love children. This is a fact, proven over and over again. The thing that people talk about and think about when they get older is their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren. Years ago, Lynette, myself and “group one” (the first four of our children), went to rural Montana for a Pollock family reunion. All the family units wore t-shirts by color. Even though it wasn’t spoken, the son or daughter with the most t-shirts “won” – everybody wanted a lot of t-shirts in their group. So, the “huge” Tim Pollock family, with only 4 children at the time, were the rock stars of the family reunion! I have thought about that moment over the years and realized how the desire for children changes over the decades of marriage. When you are first married, you usually want at least “a kid” or two. Then, over the years, the challenge comes physically, emotionally, and financially. Life is good, but it also can be rough. In those moments you’re thinking to yourself, “Do I really want a large family?”
Fast-forward forty years down the line to when you are sitting at a reunion…then everybody wants a lot of children! A lot of my emotions are just feelings in response to circumstances of the moment, but if I will wait five years, or ten years, or twenty years, then I’ll have a completely different perspective. When people come to the end of their life they realize what a blessing children are. Children are crowns; a thing we want! If we don’t have children, we can’t have children’s children, and if we don’t have children’s children then our crown doesn’t have quite the value that we would like it to have. God is in charge of the amount of children that come, but we honor past generations by giving our bodies to God and allowing Him to produce Godly seed.
2. Walking with God
Another way of honoring our heritage is by serving God. The thing that fills an older man or woman’s heart with a sense of fulfillment is having many generations after them. We are told in Scripture that joy is multiplied for Christians when they walk with the Lord. Everybody loves their children and family, but when they are walking with God, it is pure joy, “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (III John 1:3, 4). It is nice to have children. It’s not always fun or easy, but it truly is a blessing. When they have a walk with God and a heart for God, and are serious about their faith, however, there is nothing so sweet and so incredibly fulfilling. To see my children and grandchildren grow up to be successful business people, is a blessing. To see them have a nice home is nice, but when we see our children and grandchildren have a hunger for God there is nothing quite so awesome as that!
As Joseph was in the closing hours of his earthly existence he felt as though his life had been meaningful because of God touching his generations, “And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Genesis 50:24). He had the incredible privilege of seeing his children and his children’s children grow up in the Lord and said, “I can go to be with the Lord, now that I know God is going to bless and touch Israel.”
My son, Pastor Luke, had a beautiful and poignant picture on his wall that depicted the power in generations of preachers. The scene is of a modern day young man in the pulpit preaching. Behind him stood the images of the previous generations of Pastors including a Bible prophet laying their hands on the young man. A legacy of prophets!
I am privileged to have seen four generations of men of God in our family. My dad was a 1st generation Christian and Pastor. I am a Pastor and my son’s, Luke and Nathan, are both serving God. And now I see grandsons growing up strong in the Lord! Wow! I get excited when I think about what’s going to happen from here on out. We honor the generations not only by having children, but also by walking with God.
3. By Passing On Positive Traits and Experiences
We can honor the past by not letting good things die.
“Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers” (Proverbs 17:6).
Children find “glory” in their father. We must do our best to forgive our parents for their imperfections and sins, and find the glory in them. That is, to remember the good things about them.
I believe that fathers should share that glory verbally. They shouldn’t brag about any of their accomplishments, of course, but I think there are iconic stories that can teach truths. My dad would tell me stories about his dad, and I’ve shared many of those over the years. I tell those stories because I want to keep the memory alive. We can find glory in unique family traits. Each family has a “language.” There are ways we say things, character qualities we possess and customs we do. As each generation passes there are less and less “languages” on the earth. We have a language of stories, and a language of happenings. We also have certain positive traits and memories that we can pass on, and we shouldn’t let those memories die.
When we’re at the kitchen table eating dinner, and one of those memories pops into our head, then we should share it. The glory of children is their fathers. Fathers in particular, have the responsibility of sharing glory, not bragging, just family language that can be passed on. The other day I said something and I just had to laugh after it came out because I can remember my dad saying the exact same thing! We don’t want to let family memories die.
4. Think of Ways to Honor Them
We’re told in the book of Leviticus to “Rise up before the hoary head” (Lev. 19:32), that is, we are to give honor. The funny thing about American culture, which is really different from any culture in the world, is that the aged, for the most part, are not revered. We typically only want to see what is the newest thing on the horizon. Instead, we ought to think of ways to crown elders. What a blessing to be able to have parents still around and to crown them with good reports. Nothing so crowns old men and women than hearing godly news, “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country” (Proverbs 25:25). It is natural for us to desire to hear good news; we want to hear what’s happening, as it is refreshing. The older we get the more we look for meaningful things – notes, phone calls, visits, remembering holidays, and spending time with family. It is a blessing to crown them by keeping them abreast of what we’re doing. While our children are growing up, we worry about them and pray for them. That never changes, even when they become older. Parents are always a little bit worried about what’s going on. When they don’t hear from kids for a few days or weeks it affects their heart. One benefit from all the social media available today is that you can keep in touch with loved ones. If something comes up in our lives, we owe it to our parents to let them know what’s happening.
5. Treat Parents as Blessings Not Burdens
We need to make sure that we treat them like they are a glory in our life, that we’re proud and grateful for our parents and they’re not a burden to us. At times, we have to remind ourselves that children are a blessing, though it’s not always easy, and it can be the same way with parents. On occasion, they might seem too needy or they say things they shouldn’t say or get involved where they shouldn’t. At times they feel like a burden, but we should not treat them as such, we should always treat them as a blessing.
There is a high probability that we are going to have to provide care, to some degree, for our parents. While parents typically care for children for twenty years or so, it is unlikely most people will have to care for their parents that long. Most aged people may require some form of assistance from one year to twenty years total, but the average is only one to five years where you are very definitely caring for them. The best plan for many is to let them be in their own home or yours, for as long as possible. Sometimes the level of care is so high or requires skilled training that they have to be placed in a rest home. That is certainly acceptable as long as we stay connected.
Scripture says that spiritually minded people love to be a blessing to their parents, “But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God” (1 Timothy 5:4). Our most important mission field is our home, if we don’t have our home in order, then we certainly shouldn’t be in the ministry. Good Christians show godliness at home and repay (requite) parents. The phrase “good and acceptable,” refers back to the Old Testament about giving offerings. God is saying that if you want to give an offering that is acceptable to God, take care of your mom and dad. Obviously, no child will ever sufficiently repay their parents. There’s no way to repay them for all that they’ve done, but God says we should try to give back however we can.
This doesn’t mean you are obligated to uproot your lives and move across the country to care for them personally. When Peter got old, Jesus told him in affect, “I don’t want to have to tell you this, but as you age, other people are going to lead you, care for you and take you places you may not want to go” (John 21). One day, as I was reading this passage, I realized that the elderly may have to lose their independence at some point. Young families are often settled and have jobs which means, sometimes, the older parents who are not working will have to be the ones that have to relocate.
This care is mainly physical, but it may include spiritual matters. Even if you are not mentally coherent, the Bible has a way of sinking into the spirit. Parents need total care. God is very serious about this matter, “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (1 Timothy 5:8). Faith deniers are commandment deniers. The fifth command of God to Moses says to honor your parents. God says if you don’t take care of your parents, which is the first command with a promise, then you don’t have a true faith, in fact, you are even worse than an infidel (a person who doesn’t even know Christ), at least they take care of their family. My friend, even animals take care of their family! Don’t ever imagine that you’re being a good Christian if you are not doing what you can to help your aged parents. Of course, you can only do what you can do. There are certain circumstances that you just aren’t allowed to fix, but by God’s grace we can do what we can.
I read a story this past week that talks about taking care of senior citizens. “I am a senior citizen. I am the life of the party even when it lasts ‘til 8 P.M. I am a senior citizen. I am very good at opening childproof caps with a hammer. I’m usually interested in going home before I get to where I’m going. I’m good on a trip for at least an hour without my aspirin. I’m the first one to find the bathroom. Wherever I go I awake many hours before my body allows me to get up. I’m smiling all the time, why? Because I can’t hear a word you’re saying. I’m very good at telling stories over and over and over again. I’m aware that other people’s grandchildren are just not as bright as mine. I’m so cared for – long-term care, eye care, private care, and dental care. I’m not grouchy...I just don’t like traffic. I don’t like waiting. I don’t like children. I don’t like politicians. I’m positive I did house work correctly before the Internet. I’m sure what I can’t find is in a secure place. I’m wrinkled, saggy, and lumpy and that’s just my left leg, I’m a senior citizen and I’m having the time of my life.”
