Who you are is more important than what you say. Bottom line: The quality of your own spiritual life is of greatest importance to your child’s spiritual development. This was one of the most important insights of the Puritans on the subject of the family. Here is what two of them wrote: “Precept without patterns will do little good; you must lead [children] to Christ by examples as well as counsel; you must set yourselves first, and speak by lives as well as words; you must live religion as well as talk religion” (Eleazar Mather). “Be sure to set good example before your children… Other methods of instruction probably will not do much good, if you don’t teach them by a godly example. Don’t think your children will mind the good rules you give them if you act contrary to those rules yourselves… If your counsels are good, and your examples evil, your children will be more like to be hurt by the latter, than benefited by the former” (Benjamin Wadsworth). Larger Quote: (Kent and Barbara Hughes).