27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he devours the prey,
in the evening he divides the plunder.” Genesis 49:27

Even though Benjamin was the last of the 12 sons of Jacob, Jacob noted that he would probably be a warrior. In Judges 19-20, his tribe was teamed up with others and were involved in a variety of wars. He was then able to divide up the plunder for some of his brethren.

The Apostle Paul was also a Benjamite (Romans 11:1). The seeds he sowed in his “morning” would stay with him the rest of his life. He was a persecutor and murderer, and while God did forgive him, he had to wrestle with that the rest of his days.

Having said that, the passion and zeal he has in his morning certainly carried over to his evening. You couldn’t find a more passionate preacher than Paul.

Similarly we have mornings and evenings in our lives as well. Some are still battling residual habits and sins and traits (good and bad) that you carried over from your morning days. In other words, you’re reaping what you’ve sown. However, we still need to wrestle with the bad traits and habits from that time. That’s why it’s utterly important to plant good seeds into the children of each generation. Otherwise, that generation will reap the bad traits of when they were growing up.

What kinds of sees am I talking about? Criticisms, negativity, pessimism, put downs, constant frowning, cursing, excessive TV, and badmouthing people in front of them, to name a few.

People can and do change, yes, but some habits are hard to shake even under the best of circumstances.

So why make it difficult on kids if there’s no need?