Under The Influence

A lot of things shape our lives. We don't know it at the time but in our early childhood years we are under the influence of the world around us. Our parents, friends, school teachers, neighbors and relatives all play a part in how we think. We create a set of values based on these relationships and then we saunter off onto adult life armed with what we have learned in our youth. My father never seemed to give me a lot of advice but what he did give me I used later on in life. I remember in my early teen years when he told me that getting through life and being successful had everything to do with "guts and determination". He must have told me that 100 times during those years and lo and behold when I got out on my own I became a very driven young man. I really think that my ability to sell the music industry on my talent was some of the reason that I had success in Nashville.

My dad also used to tell me something before I went out on a date. He said, "remember son, your mother was a lady." I really didn't understand where he was coming from for awhile but it soon sunk in that he wanted me to respect the girls that I dated. Those two bits of advice stuck with me a long time. Even though I could have used a few more, I often heard my fathers voice when I was working a job or going out on a date. After all these years I still find that to be kind of an amazing phenomena. It is clear to me that God gave us fathers to guide us and give us values. Some of us are better at it than others but the influence is there both positive and negative. I would think that you could probably look at a society and see that the root of its success or failure has been determined by the values of the moms and dads. That is powerful. That is a great responsibility.

There comes a time in life when we come out from under the influence of our family and find that the tables have turned and that it's now our turn to influence our own children. It's on the job training for sure. God had a plan. You can see his image written all over fatherhood and family. If we are going to be under the influence this holiday season, I recommend at least a pint of "Abba", the fatherhood of God. Earthly fathers can only do so much.