Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

First off, I don't have kids, although I hope to in the future. And I also realize that not everyone wants to have kids, and I totally get and respect that. However, my mind has been on a track the past few days and I keep going back to this thought: Even though I don't have kids, why don't I model my behavior as someone I'd want my kids to look up to?

When I look to many of the role models in my life, one if not the most admirable thing about them is the way they raise their kids. There's no such thing as a perfect parent, and I don't strive to be a perfect person by any means. However, so many times we live our lives as if no one else is watching. In fact, there are many people watching and the effect we have on others around us seen or unseen is innumerable.

No one is expected to be their best all the time, and I don't expect that from myself. However, if I continue to live my life as if no one else is watching, as if the kids that are in my life are not looking up to me to model and show the way, then I'm not doing myself any favors, even if I'm doing everything exactly the way I selfishly want to.

We've all heard the phrase, "Show, don't tell" and we've also either heard or said the phrase, "Do as I say, not as I do." So which one is it? When faced with a verbal directive and an action that goes against it, which one is someone going to believe? Children don't always understand that something is wrong because you say it is. It's up to us to demonstrate with our actions, whether or not there are young people in our lives, because the truth is, there's always someone watching and learning.