GOD, FAMILY & OTHERS | Parents & Children
The people we relate to have a profound impact on the quality and direction of our lives. All of our relationships can be categorized into three areas: first, our relationship or lack of relationship with our parents. Second, our relationships outside of the home. And third, our relationship or lack of relationship with God. That who we are today, what we think, how we act and even our personalities have been molded by the relationships or lack thereof in our lives.
The relationship between a parent and child is perhaps the most significant relationship in a person’s life. I recently read a study in which children were asked: How can you tell if a couple is married? One of the top answers was, “if they’re arguing, then they are probably married.” Honestly, I thought the answer was a bit funny. But the truth is that the answer is unsettling, especially in light of the fact that the way they see and relate to their parents will have a profound impact on their lives.
For good or bad our relationship with our parents has had a long-term effect on our lives. And our relationship with our children will likewise have a long-term effect on their lives. Let me give you four ways in which our relationship with our parents may have impacted our lives:
- If we had attentive and expressive parent’s, multiple studies show that we’ll probably be more open and sociable.
- If our parents tended to be neglectful, studies show that the more neglectful they were, the more we will tend to seek and demand attention as an adult.
- If our parents tended to be emotionally reserved, studies show that we will be more inclined to be emotionally reserved.
- If our parents were divorced or unmarried, studies show that we’ll tend to be cynical about love and romantic relationships.
Obviously, our parents are not guilty of all of our shortcomings and they are not responsible for everything that is good about us; but they were and in many cases still are influential when it comes to who we are and who we’ll become.
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6 NIV
Robert Cruz Jr.
Bobby Cruz Jr. became Senior Pastor of CDA Miami in 1999, continuing the work that his father, Bobby Cruz began in 1980. Bobby Jr. is an engaging speaker whose passion is to lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus. He has five children and he lives with his wife Ana in Doral, FL.