If you're a parent, what kinds of things do you emulate to your kids? If they were to grow up to be JUST like you, would that please you, or would it make you fear for their future?
My father was a smoker. He smoked almost his entire life, and guess what? The minute I moved out and lived on my own, I became a smoker. First it was just socially. I didn't even buy my own cigarettes. My roommates would bum me a cigarette whenever I wanted one. But then I started taking them more and more often, and my roommates got fed up and said, "Hey, you think you can start buying your own cigarettes from now on?" I didn't do it to be rude. I didn't want to face that I was addicted to them. I wanted to believe I was just smoking socially. I didn't want to accept that I had a problem.
My father died from lung cancer. He died on September 20th, 2009. I was devastated. A man who had this tremendous zest for life was GONE. Just like that. When he found out he was sick, he threw out every cigarette he had, except for one, unopened pack. He left the pack on his dashboard in his truck, and every time he drove somewhere and felt a craving, he'd point at that pack and say, "I am BETTER than you, and I WILL beat this!" Well, his good intentions were in vain, because eventually cancer did take his life, but let me tell you what....he put up a HELL of a fight. The doctors gave him 6-12 months to live. He lived for 18. In that time, he became the best person he could be. He accepted Jesus Christ into his heart. The grudge-ridden man I once knew started forgiving everyone he felt wronged him...everyone except himself. He was so ANGRY with himself for not listening to us when we asked him to quit. He was so ANGRY with himself for not listening to the doctors when they repeatedly told him that eating all the wrong things and taking up the wrong habits were eventually going to kill him. He was ANGRY for not taking the hint when his OWN father died from lung cancer. Do you see where I'm going with this? It took my father DYING FROM CANCER to become convinced that it was time to stop smoking. How sad is that? I lost my hero. All because of one stupid habit. All because he didn't have the convictions to stop until it was too late. He had the strength. I know he did. He was the strongest man I knew. He just didn't WANT to stop.
If just for a day, you had to look through the eyes of your children, what would you see? What kinds of habits are they going to take up from you? You can preach to them until your face is blue that smoking is bad, not to swear, to eat good foods, and to exercise, but if you aren't doing these things yourself, do you really think that they are going to listen to you? You MUST lead by example. There is simply no other way to form a healthy child. If you want to ensure their future, to make sure that YOU don't outlive THEM, you may want to rethink your daily activities. Oh and after you rethink them, DO something about it! My dad died when he was 63 years old. And his mom? She is STILL alive! She is in her 90's! So genes were not the problem. He could have lived to be a very old man, but because of one silly mistake, because of one good choice he could not bring himself to make, his life was taken from him.
Ask yourself how long you want to live. Ask yourself how long you want your children, and your children's children, and so forth, to live. Then ask yourself what you want to accomplish in the years you have now, and what you want to accomplish in the years you'd have if you changed the bad habits in your life. Aren't there so many more doors to choose from if things changed? You can have a fulfilled life. You can achieve your dreams. If you think you can't, if you're already handing yourself excuses as to why you can't, seriously ask yourself, "Why not?", and see if any of the answers you come up with are worth a damn.
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