Have you ever known a truly musical family? One in which each member displays a talent for some instrument, or one in which the children spontaneously break into four-part harmonies? When musicians marry, it often seems that their children have music coursing through their veins.
This is more than a result of favorable genetics. The children of musicians observe the necessity of discipline to produce beautiful music, and often, parents so value the development of their child’s talent that they will actually MAKE THEM PRACTICE. That is not to say that musical children are merely a product of their parent’s desire. I have known many children who beg to play an instrument before their little fingers can stretch to form chords or notes. They are eager because they have seen the enjoyment that those around them receive from making beautiful music.
This, I believe, is the key to families who display exceptional musical ability: the love of music is contagious. Those who are exposed to beauty develop an appreciation for it and often desire to create it themselves. True lovers of music are able to foster this love in their children, while at the same time serving as an example of the hard work that goes into producing it.
I suspect that members of such families are rarely greeted with the disparaging attitudes that so often meet those who have grown up in religious families. You wouldn’t expect someone to remark, “You’re only musical because your parents were musical” as if this somehow delegitimizes hard work and talent. Musicians are not accused of being unable to think for themselves or of blindly adopting their parents’ values. They so obviously have inherited a love that they are more often envied than derided.
But these are, unfortunately, the attitudes that greet people who continue in their parents’ faith. They are quickly labeled “indoctrinated” or “brainwashed” and made to feel that they are second-class citizens at the intellectual table. And it is no doubt true that some do unthinkingly adopt their parents’ religion because it is familiar or because they don’t want to rock the boat. But it is also true that many who grow up thinking through issues of faith have wrestled through more questions of truth and morality than their counterparts who weren’t exposed to any framework of belief.
This is certainly not to say that any religion passed on from parents to children is necessarily good. (We all know that there are notorious crime families as well as musical, artistic, or athletic families.) Negative behaviors or beliefs can be even more contagious than that which is good. And if a religion is not true, it does not somehow become nobler because it belongs to one’s family or culture. Rather, I am suggesting that we should not discount those who share their parents’ faith; after all, they have seen it lived out in both joys and sorrows.
It was always God’s plan for the people of Israel to pass on their faith to their children. Moses spoke the word of the Lord to them, saying: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).
The point of this command was not to raise children who are good rule followers. Rather, it was to raise up parents who are so full of the love of God (loving Him with all their strength) that their children want to follow the same path. We who are in Christ have the same opportunity: not to raise children who blindly follow us, but to raise those who, because they have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord, want to run to Him.
________
Copyright © 2006 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. “A Slice of Infinity” is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
*
[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]