I am trying to follow the HBO Series John Adams. What I have seen so far has been outstanding and I highly recommend it. The series is based on David McCullough’s book, John Adams. Tom Hanks is the producer. A memorable scene for me came as Adams was in France during the Revolutionary War, accompanied by his young son, John Quincy Adams (who would later be President like his father). An opportunity had developed for John Quincy to accompany a diplomat to Russia. The young boy asked his father to allow him to remain in Paris with him. That was the son’s strong preference. The father in a brief few minutes spoke to his son about not always doing what is convenient and “preferable.” There are other factors such as duty, priorities and values to consider when deciding a course of action. He used his own example being so far from his wife, Abigail, and their family because of his commitment to this young, struggling nation. His strong preference would have been to stay home on the family farm. But, duty, priorities and his values dictated otherwise.

How many of us have such teaching conversations with our children instructing them about the fact that there are causes larger and more important than self. Further, how many of us can point to ourselves as examples for our children in demonstrating this important teaching point?