Investing in the Next Generation: Surrounded By Reminders

This week we are continuing our series about the importance of investing in others, especially younger generations. We’ve talked about beginning that investment by making sure our faith and relationship with God is something worth passing on to others. We’ve also talked about sharing God with others as we go about our days. We’ve been looking at Deuteronomy chapter 6 and what God said about investing in the next generation in those verses. Today we are going to pick up in verses 8-9 which say:

“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

We know from our previous articles that God was giving these instructions through Moses to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land. During the Second Temple Period, after the return of some of the exiles from Babylon, some in the nation of Israel began to take these verses literally. They began putting mezuzahs on their doorposts and wearing phylacteries, or tefillin, on their arms and foreheads. These small boxes held parchment with scripture passages. I don’t know that these were supposed to be taken that literally, and even the Israelites generally only wore them during prayer times.

In American Christian culture though, our modern equivalent probably looks more like decorative signs from Hobby Lobby and shirts with Scripture or Christian sayings. Whether or not you like wearing Christians t-shirts or decorating your house from Christian bookstores, it is the principle in these verses that needs careful attention. Just like the previous verses emphasized the importance of teaching others about God and His commands throughout our entire day and everywhere we go, these verses give us another important insight about how we can help invest in the next generation.

As we read Deuteronomy 6:8-9, we see that we are to surround ourselves with God’s Word. Whether we take the verses literally as the the later Israelites did or look at the general principle, we see that we should be intentional about placing God’s Word and reminders of God’s Word all around us. We can do this for those we are investing in as well.

We live in a day and age where the options for Scripture reminders are endless: bookmarks, signs, stickers, bumper stickers, toys, clothing items, jewelry, bags, pillows, and the list goes on. If you can think of it, you can make it or have it made. The number of Scripture themed products that are available with the click of a button seems unending. These can be great tools, but we can even use simple things like post it notes or index cards and make our own Scripture reminders.

The point is, it doesn’t really matter exactly what types of reminders you are using or where all you are putting them. It’s more important that you actually use them. Surround yourself with reminders of God and His Word. Find the reminders that work the best for you. Place them in spots that you will frequently see, and change them up from time to time so they don’t just become a part of your routine background.

As you invest in the next generation, or others in general, and teach them about God and His Word, consider the reminders that might be most helpful for them. Some of the reminders that you use, might be great to share with others, but different types of reminders might work better for others as well. If you know someone who likes to draw, you might suggest that they consider making their own artwork as reminders. If someone spends a lot of time in the car,  helping them find reminders to put in that location can be good. Do they like jewelry? Do they read a lot? Do they spend a lot of time looking in the mirror? Is a lot of their time spent in the kitchen? Once again, the sky is the limit. The options are only limited by your imagination, but getting to know those you are investing in will help you figure out how to best help them surround themselves with reminders of God and His Word.