Susan Beckett | The Dwelling Place City Church
I was talking to a young mom the other day about kids, and the subject of children mimicking their parents’ behavior came up. Parents are so often blueprints for their kids – like it or not. I remember an old TV commercial years ago where a father was washing his car with a cigarette in his mouth. His young son was following right behind, doing everything his father did — the dad wiped the hubcap, the son wiped the hubcap. The dad polished the headlight; the son polished the headlight, etc. Then the father took his cigarette out of his mouth, dropped it on the ground, and moved on. The son, following behind him, picked it right up. Commercial over.
Being a good example, having a solid reputation, and a good name is often easier said than done. In 1982 Colgate (toothpaste) decided to try their hand at frozen dinners. Apparently, Colgate Lasagna just didn’t sit well in peoples’ minds and the product was a flop. Then there was the diet candy called AYDS – did great until the AID’s epidemic hit. Like it or not, names matter.
And when was the last time you heard someone naming their child Adolph? There’s a reputation that goes along with that name. As a matter of fact, many members of the Hitler family have changed their names to distance themselves from that tainted image. As Proverbs 22:1 reminds us: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” When you have a good name, you have something of immense value. There’s an old Japanese proverb that says, “Life is for one generation. A good name is forever.”
I recently happened upon a fascinating story told by Bruce Cecil, about a World War II hero – Butch O’Hare. As Bruce tells it, Butch was a fighter pilot on an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific. One day, while out on a mission, he noticed his fuel was running low. Unable to complete his mission that day, he turned around and headed back to the aircraft carrier. As he did so, he saw a squadron of Japanese Zeros headed straight for the American fleet. He noted that the fighters were out, leaving the fleet virtually defenseless.
He dove into the formation of the Japanese planes in a desperate move to divert them away from the fleet. Finally, after a frightening air battle, the Japanese airplanes called off their assault. Butch O’Hare’s tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. He was recognized as a hero and given one of the nation’s highest military honors. O’Hare International Airport in Chicago is named after him.
Some years earlier, there was a man in Chicago called Easy Eddie. In those days, Al Capone virtually owned the city. Capone’s mob was involved in bootlegging booze, murder, and prostitution. Easy Eddie was Al Capone’s lawyer and kept Big Al out of the crowbar hotel. In return, Easy Eddie earned big money and lived like a king on an estate so large it filled an entire city block.
But Easy Eddie had one soft spot — a son whom he loved dearly. Eddie saw that his son had the best of everything: clothes, cars, and a good education. Despite Eddie’s involvement with the mob, he tried to teach his son right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.
But there were two things Eddie couldn’t give his son – a good name and a good example. Deciding that giving his son these two things was more important than lavishing him with riches, Eddie had to rectify the wrong he had done and he went to the authorities and told them the truth about Al Capone.
Easy Eddie testified in court against Al Capone and the mob. He knew the cost would be great, but he wanted to be an example to his son and leave him with a good name. Within a year of testifying against the mob, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago street. He had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer at the greatest price he would ever pay.
What do these stories have to do with one another? Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son.
For a pocket wrap-up, here’s how Albert Einstein phrased it: “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.”
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCityChurch.org.
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