Op-Ed: CAREFULLY CHOOSE YOUR ANCESTORS
Deuteronomy 4: 9 “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons.”
By Van Yandell
Have you ever wished you could have chosen your ancestors? Perhaps you’ve looked in a mirror and noticed personal characteristics that seem to be family directed. Traits such as height, facial shape and even hair loss in older males seem to be a predisposition.
Proclivity toward diseases and related ailments also appear to be family peculiarities. The thickness of one’s blood and heart conditions apparently are inherited. Arthritis, kidney problems, diabetes and even such problems as ingrown toenails seem to be family oriented.
We acquire more from our ancestors than we usually think about. When I was teaching I couldn’t help but notice characteristics in students assimilated from parents. Language, personal dress or cleanliness values and attitudes toward authority are taken from the mostly constant exposure to parents and/or siblings.
One’s levels of perseverance and determination are taken from the teachings of parents and other close relatives. Work ethic, a desire to learn new concepts and ideas are passed on from generation to generation. The “never give up” attitude can be successfully instilled in an offspring.
Attitudes toward authority such as police and teachers are partially controlled by parental influence. Children of convicts are more likely to spend time incarcerated than children of the non-convicted. This of course is not a 100% statement but statistically, is true.
When I heard a student use the word “hate” or “I hate” that feeling of aggression had to come from the home. A baby is not born hating anyone. Prejudice toward other races, ethnic groups or national origins are not natural. Eye color is natural, hatred is not!
There are many examples of familial influence in both physical and attitude attributes in one’s life. Conversations even appear to be consistent with family values. We have a slate wall hanging stating “Intelligent people talk about ideals, average people talk about things and simple people talk about people.”
People that perpetually complain very likely were raised in a household of complainers. The continually focusing on “what’s wrong” rather than “what’s good and right” sets a pattern for one’s life and that is not a life of happiness and successes.
One very significant discovery in the “fingerprinting” of the family and genealogy study is that of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Friedrich Miescher first isolated the DNA molecule in 1869.
DNA was first used as a forensic tool in a criminal case in 1986 in England to identify a serial killer. The study of DNA over these last forty years has provided us with human information never before even imagined.
We have learned that when we realize many of our personal qualities we can either blame or credit our ancestors. The old saying considering a father and son “The apple doesn’t fall very from the tree” applies in more ways than we may at first realize.
Of course the title of this article is “tongue-in-cheek.” We can no more choose our ancestors than we change the orbit of planet earth. The point being, we are either blessed or cursed by many of the characteristics of our ancestors.
What is controllable is what we become as ancestors of future generations. Should we teach hate, negativism toward authority, poor health habits, and negative attitudes about life in general?
We often want to “hand down” to our children and grandchildren such things as riches, land/real estate, keepsakes and various other items considered by ourselves to be of value.
But are these tangible items really of great value? Why not pass on to our offspring higher quality values such as love of country, love of family, benevolence attitudes, and religious concerns.
Proverbs 22: 6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” There are numerous scriptural verses that pertain to the raising of our offspring. This verse perhaps leaves us with the question, “What is the way he should go?” Where one would spend eternity would be of great importance.
What is a correct belief concerning our eternity? The God of the Bible teaches love, respect, consideration of others, freedom of choice and freedom from sin. Above all He paid the price for our sins rather than telling us of something we must do to earn our eternal life. Jesus paid the price for our sin in full.
Other faiths teach varying beliefs demanding certain actions of their practitioners. Those actions range from to kill those of other beliefs, to condemnation, to shunning. At any rate, the teachings of the God of the Bible are more in line with civilized humanity than many of the others.
If your good fortune is to have had ancestors that line you up with Biblical teachings you have been blessed.
The Bible teaches there is only one eternal salvation. That is by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) that Christ Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (Romans 4: 25), resurrected (Matthew 28: 6) and ascended alive into Heaven (Acts 1: 9).
We will be an ancestor to someone. What are we going to pass on? Many things we cannot control but there are many things we can control. Will those traits be good or bad? You decide.
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary. His email is vmy3451@gmail.com