Talk is cheap, but actions reveal the truth.

I've heard parents say they are going to let their kids make up their own minds about matters of faith. Newsflash! Our children are going to make up their own minds no matter what we do.

Here's a reality check about matters of faith. We all form our own opinions and make up our own minds about it. My faith is not a clone of any of my parents' or grandparents' beliefs. As far as I know, in fact, I'm the first Harris from our family who is a preacher. But I grew up seeing that faith was important to my folks and that became the foundation of everything I am.

That's the way it works: children see what is important to their parents and emulate it. Notice I didn't say that children hear what their parents say is important, but I said children see what really is important to their parents. Talk is cheap, but actions reveal the truth. It's our actions that show who we really are and what we really believe.

Am I pushing my faith on my children? No, but they know exactly how important it is to me. Am I trying to push my faith on you by writing this column? No, you'll make up your own mind. I'm just trying to remind all of us that our children are watching. If your faith is important to you, don't be ashamed to show it to them. Believe me, they already know.

Written by Craig Harris (www.apparentlyso.net.)