Ever wonder whether your life really matters? Do you sometimes ask yourself whether the sacrifices you've made for your family will have any lasting effect? Let me assure you, your life does matter and your family sacrifices do have an impact. I base this bold statement on two studies about how a person's actions affect the lives of their family in generations that follow. The research centered on the lives of two men: Max Juke and Jonathan Edwards. Here's how the men lived and the legacy they left.
According to research conducted by Richard L. Dugdale in, "The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity", there was a man named Max Juke who lived in American colonial times. Juke was reportedly an atheist who believed in liberation from laws. He allegedly advocated free sex, no formal education and hated imposed responsibilities. Dugdale wrote that Juke was "'a hunter and fisher, a hard drinker, jolly and companionable, averse to steady toil, working hard by spurts and idling by turns. He had a numerous progeny, some of them almost certainly illegitimate." In other words, Juke was neither principled nor industrious.
Some years later, a gentleman named A. E. Winship studied what happened to the descendants of colonial era evangelist, Jonathan Edwards. Edwards was everything Juke was not: hardworking, God-fearing and Bible believing. Edwards "was a godly minister who was credited with igniting The Great Awakening through his sermons. He served for a brief period just before his death as president of what is now known as Princeton University. He believed in leading by example. He authored two books on the subjects of physical fitness and kindness. Mr. Edwards later became involved in teaching people to be responsible for their daily actions."
Certainly Juke and Edwards had an impact on their immediate families, but what about the generations to follow? Here's what happened in the years after Juke and Edwards died:
Of 1026 descendants of Max Juke, 300 were convicts, 27 were murderers, 190 were prostitutes and 509 were either alcoholics or drug addicts. Dugdale was able to estimate that the Jukes had cost the State of New York almost $1.4 million dollars to house, institutionalize and treat the family of deviants. By contrast, the 929 descendents of Jonathan Edwards included 13 college presidents, 86 college professors, 430 ministers, 314 war veterans, 75 authors, 100 lawyers, 30 judges, 66 physicians, and 80 holders of public office, including three U.S. Senators, seven
congressman, mayors of three large cities, governors of three states, a Vice-President of the United States, and a controller of the United States Treasury.
Having a strong, disciplined and godly family does not guarantee success for generations to come. But the studies of Juke and Edwards confirms what we know in our hearts. The way we live our lives has a profound impact on people around us and on generations to come. We must be careful, then, how we live our family lives. Our great, great, grandchildren are watching.
