By Brenda Cannon Henley
“I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day, for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou has taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now, also when I am old and gray headed, O God, forsake me not until I have showed thy strength unto this generation and thy power to every one that is to come.” – Psalm 71:14-18

The most important phrase in this Scripture to me is the one that teaches “thou has taught me from my youth.” When and how do you teach the younger generations? You do it daily, hour by hour, line upon line, precept upon precept, according to Isaiah 28, Verses 10 and 13. Children learn by our instruction, but may I remind us all today that they also learn very much by our example.

What kind of example are we setting for the youth that are watching us? What do we want to teach them by our daily (and nightly) living? Is the most important thing in our lives getting away with something? Making unfair gain? Hurting others? Stealing, lying, cheating, gossiping, being unkind and bossy? Do we want our young men and women to think it an invigorating challenge to see just who can drink the most alcohol in one night? Do we want to score big by being right or No. 1 every time? Do we celebrate the wrong victories in our homes and businesses? Do we brag on ourselves every minute?

If so, we must certainly need to set a different course. You have only one chance at youth — both yours and those who follow you. If we are going to “teach from the youth up,” we must start early and stay with the course all the way through. I heard a child psychologist say that one of the most damaging things we can do to our young people is to consistently send mixed messages to them. If something is right, it is right all of the time. If it is wrong and harmful, it is wrong and harmful all of the time.

I love stories. I can listen to them for hours or read them for days. About two years before my mother died, she bought me a small metal sign and I could tell when she gave it to me she thought it was special, and it was. The sign pictured a girl sitting at a desk with a man standing in front and the little caption circle coming out from her mind said, “Sure, go ahead and tell me your story. I am just dying to hear it.” Mother thought that was special for a newspaper reporter who had heard lots of stories over the years. I’ll admit, some were more relevant and special than others, and, well, some were to be heard by someone, and I was elected. I often joke and say I must have “that kind of face” that invites complete strangers to stop and tell me a story about their innermost lives.

I witnessed a story this week that examines the truth I used to open this column. A very poor man from a very poor family escaped his background and became quite wealthy, but he was not taught truth from his youth. As he amassed more money and larger fortunes, companies, homes, travel, and worldly fame, his heart grew more bitter and cold. The great wealth and position was not satisfying, and deep inside his own being, he was a miserable human being. He left the wife of his youth, took a wife two years younger than his older daughter, and to the larger extent abandoned his family. His actions hurt his children, but his wife went to work and made a good home. Later, as the children grew and built homes of their own, much of the old hurt and anger was pushed aside, or so it seemed.

When the eldest grandchild, the biological grandson of this very rich man, was to graduate from high school, it was decided that even though the grandfather had never played a role in his life, it was only right and courteous to send an invitation. A message was relayed from the man back to one of his children after receiving the invitation in the mail. “I don’t owe that kid anything,” he said bitterly. In many ways, he was very wrong. According to the Bible, the grandfather owed the child right teaching, but truth be told, he had never had much in his own life.

The young graduate will be fine. He is wonderfully surrounded by those that love him deeply and he will succeed because he is a good person and has been taught from his youth right from wrong and good from evil. I hope I am not correct in my assessment, but when this very rich man is lying cold and clammy on his deathbed, facing eternity, I trust this one grandchild and the others in the family rely on the teaching that they have been given throughout their lives. I trust they will put aside hurt, anger, and misunderstanding and be there for the old, bitter man who has never found happiness in all that he owns. Money can never buy happiness or contentment. This story proves that over and over again, and I know it to be true.

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788 or at [email protected].

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