Christian Living

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Three Areas of Your Life That Show an Example
by Dan Langerock

Have you ever thought about the impact your life has upon those around you? There are three main areas that influence others who see and know you: yourself, your marriage and/or relationships, and the remaining areas of your life.

Yourself

Who and what you are as a person influences those around you. Your personality, how you handle stress, whether you have addictions in your life, demeanor, friendly or rude, and a host of other factors tell others who you are and whether you are worth knowing as a person.

You influenced your children as they were growing up, now the grandchildren are around to watch and learn from you. The example you set will partially influence what they become. Their memories will record what they observe in you until the end of their lives. If they have offspring, that record will be passed along to them as well.

Marriage and Relationships

How you conduct yourself in a marriage and/or relationships will have a telling effect on those around you. How did you treat the people in these relationships? What was your attitude if things went sour? Did you carry grudges or were you a forgiving person? Were you generous or stingy, thoughtful or impulsive, controlling or easy-going, fun-loving or strait-laced?

The Rest of Your Life

What composes the rest of your life: work, leisure, retirement, hobbies, plus so much more. Were you honest and hard-working as either an employer or employee? Was work the only word in your dictionary or did you know how to relax? How will you handle retirement when that time comes? Is your life so wrapped up in your work that no other world exists? What will your marriage and relationships be like when this happens? I have known people who couldn't stand to be around their spouse when they retired. Will you be one of these? Do you have interests, hobbies, and friendships outside of work. If not, you will probably be miserable in the state of retirement.

Think about the people you meet and interact with everyday? Do you care what they see and hear in your personality, conversation and manner of life? Compare the effect you have on your family to what you wish it could be, then work toward that goal. Just because you are a certain way, doesn't mean you have to maintain that the rest of your life. But the decision to change must come from you before anything positive can happen. Be introspective and look at who and what you are as a person. The effects of what you decide will have an impact for many years to come.

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