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Then he said to his father, “That’s not right,
Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
Gen 48:18
I can't say from experience, but being the first born in a family of several children carries an awesome responsibility. It's not written anywhere that I know, but it seems the older child is always expected to carry the weight of his or her brothers and sisters. Most of their clothes are passed down, they have to watch the others when their parents aren't around and do things for them when they can't help themselves. Because they're bigger, they're often criticized when the others get in trouble and more times than not, blamed for it, even though they didn't do anything except watch.
Now, if all this seems unfair, there's more than enough compensation for being the eldest. First they get new clothes and receive the most attention because they were the first baby of new parents. Because they're bigger, they can do things shorter kids can't and being a more mature deceiver, they can generally conceal what they've done that was bad, and make it appear their younger brothers or sister did it. I don't know where you are in the birth order of your family, but take advice from the youngest of four children, born to parents who were surprised you could still have kids at their age. There's something to be said for always being the baby, even though today he's the prime recipient of AARP mail.
Pray it
Thank you for the privilege of family and the memories that make me feel loved.
Resources
Are you in
the Light as a man after God's heart, or is your life void of Light?. (2000)
Do only good
things come from God? (2001)
Just because
you can't see Jesus, doesn't mean you don't need Him. (2002)
The failure
to pray is like being tardy; showing disrespect for someone (God) and
his time. (2004)
As a Christian,
aren't you glad God doesn't give you what you deserve? (2005)
It's embarrassing
that God has to sometime use strangers to speak to us because we won't
speak to Him (2006)
Obedience is the fast track to being healthy. (2007)
The phrase, "Monkey see, monkey do," elevates the intelligence of some people.. (2008)
Misery loves company. (2009)
1. One-minute
Devotionals began on January 2, 2006 and are the original creation of James R. Green, Prayertower Webservant Content is derived from his alternating
and sequential survey of both the Old and New Testament to offer insight
on Scripture.
2. Resources are derived
from daily devotions of James R. Green called, Just Thinkin'... (2000-2003),
Read the Bible Thru in 365 Days (2004), Pray Thru the Word in 365 Days (2005) and One Minute Devotional (2006-2008).
3. Scripture: God's
Word Translation (c)1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All Rights
Reserved.
Copyright ©2010 James
R. Green, Webservant - Prayertower Ministries
All Rights Reserved
