Generational Proverbs

R

roundcorners_IHB

New member
Our Church is going through the book of Proverbs in the Bible. A few things stick out in my devotions, which I never noticed before. After reading BK thread over the weekend, given the current economic downturn and thinking about my up bringing, my father?s up bringing, his fathers, and father?s father. The one theme of generational blessings, curses, sins and tragedies really spoke to me.



My great-grand father was a known doctor in Taiwan that was struck down with a sudden disease at the prime of his youth; I believe before the occupation of Japan. Apparently our family has a long line of Pastors (dating back to the original Irish Presbyterian missionaries of the late 1800s); entrepreneurs, lawyers, and doctors.



My grand father in turn was forced into hard labor in a lumber yard before his 8th birthday. Without proper guidance, education or opportunity, my grand father slaved away at the lumber yard for most of his life. My dad remembers him coming home day after day covered head to toe in saw dust. He also died at a fairly young age, I?m guessing roughly in his 50s.



Things get a little sketchy as to why the other siblings and relatives of my great-grand father didn?t step-up to help raise my grand father; apparently our line of the family was really at a disadvantage compared to the rest.



My dad has five siblings, they had a hard rural life, and my dad in turn also worked manual labor at an early age. During his time in the Taiwanese army he learned electrical engineering and electronic repair. With the help of other relatives he was able to work at a family medical clinic. He eventually saved enough to open up a Sanyo Franchise; they sold everything in 1981 and immigrated our entire family to Gardena.



That single tragic event completely affected two whole generations. It took the hard work, dedication and sacrifices of my grand father and father to get us where we are today. Sometimes I wonder, what would have happen if he didn?t died at the peak of his earning potential? Would I be like one of my peers who have a huge Irvine SFR, with the help of educated parents & grand parents?



A few Proverbs also makes me wonder the implications of my life, now that I?m a father. Sure there are semi-inconsequential events such as minor/major sicknesses, bodily injuries, recessions, job losses and business failures - all the way up to - grave injuries such as crippling accidents that can costs us years or even decades of our lives. I wonder how losing your life savings in a foreclosure will affect your decedents. But what about more severe tragedies such as divorces, chemical & alcohol addictions, incarcerations, (refugees/victims of) war, and untimely deaths.



This also goes to show that the decision we make such choosing to be emotionally healthy, finding a compatible, complementary spouse, being connected to a nurturing, genuine community and possessing a greater purpose in a close fellowship with a higher power not only affect our lives but lives of generations to follow.



If tragedies can be transferred generationaly, I also believe blessings can also. As I mentioned before, one of the reason why I?m a Christian today is because someone generations past decided to follow Christ from a white Irish Presbyterian missionary. And generations, countless numbers of family members have been transformed and are being transformed everyday because of that decision.



In looking backwards and forwards in your family tree, would you agree with my basic premise of generational curses and blessings?
 
hmm... interesting question although not sure the answers are so straightfwd as to fit into a polling format. i chose #4, the decisions we make today have lasting generational consequences. yet i also agree with #1 and don't think they reside on opposite spectrums from each other.



changes in your socio-economic level tend to carry onto future generations because you're passing on values, knowledge, or wealth. of course, untimely events derail what previously seemed like sure and steady growth. not only is that the nature of life, it's really also the way of the world. we tend to think of the world as moving in slow ebbs and flows when in reality, history is a extremely volatile. we just tend to smooth things out in hindsight, and assume that it should be that way going forward. therefore we see events as either great blessing or terrible curses because they didn't fit into expectations. that is the black swan view of the world.
 
I don't think it's a coincidence that we're going through the Great Recession, just as the survivors of the Great Depression have died/are really old. The Great Depression survivors remembered it, and safeguarded the govt reforms after it to prevent it from happening again, and saved like crazy just in case. Their kids were more cavalier and had no worries dismantling the regulation. And their grandkids were even more cavalier (ie. have only known good times since the 70's, lived on the month to month payment without worrying about things and believed leverage was good as assets could only go up).



Sometimes it is good that future generations forget (ex. gets rid of racism and sexism) and sometimes it is bad (ex. Great Recession). But it is always forgotten, at least on an emotional level.



Some things built by past generations remain for a long time (ex. Roman aquaducts still in use in Europe) while others are ignored or dismantled by future generations. But any effect from the past is coincidental - when the people who built them are gone, the next generation forgets how they were built and why.



I don't think there is much to family legacies. Look at the number of wealthy families where all the money is squandered and gone in two or three generations. There was also an interesting study following kids that grew up in horrific homes - somehow, a quarter of those kids went on to have happy families of their own and good careers. There is no fate but what we currently choose to make.
 
Agree with Anonymous.



????? (fu bu guo san dai)



* Literally: Wealth does not pass three generations

* Meaning: It's rare the wealth of a family can last for three generation (the 2nd may see the value of hard work, the 3rd, forget it)

* Explanation: In business, the first generation works extremely hard, so that the second generation reaps the benefits. By the

time the third generation arrives, the wealth is squandered.



<a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chinese_proverbs">Reference: Wikiquote-- Chinese proverbs</a>
 
Oracle: I'd ask you to sit down, but, you're not going to anyway. And don't worry about the vase.



Neo: What vase?

[Neo turns to look for a vase, and as he does, he knocks over a vase of flowers, which shatters on the floor]



Oracle: That vase.



Neo: I'm sorry...



Oracle: I said don't worry about it. I'll get one of my kids to fix it.



Neo: How did you know?



Oracle: Ohh, what's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything?





-IR2

<em>(waiting patiently for LOST to come back. Please, JJ, please don't let me down with a garbage ending like Alias)</em>
 
That proverb makes a lot of sense, but the irony is Chinese (and other East Asians) indirectly cause it to be true through their own risk-adverse attitudes toward their children. The parents that own convenience stores, laundromats, restaurants, manufacturing, import/export, and other small business see their work as unsafe, unnecessarily hard, or not good enough, no matter how lucrative. They will want their children to pursue professions in medicine, law, accounting, or engineering. In effect the parents are trying to smooth the volatility in the lives of their children that they had to endure.



If Henry Nicholas was Chinese, he would not have attempted to start Broadcom with his professor after completing his Ph.D. at UCI. Instead he would have taken a nice cushy middle-management research position at IBM. Then again, he probably wouldn't be in the trouble that he's in because he'd be living in Irvine and the HOAs would have prevented him from building those drug and harem bunkers under his house. Also, he would have been afraid of his parents finding out and scolding him.
 
[quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1251864662]

<em>(waiting patiently for LOST to come back. Please, JJ, please don't let me down with a garbage ending like Alias)</em></blockquote>
What? You didn't like that Sydney had a super-daughter like herself? And that whole Rambaldi sub-plot was just a chase for the Fountain of Youth and a mind-control device?



(sorry if I spoiled this for anyone)
 
[quote author="justbrowsing" date=1251858889]Agree with Anonymous.



????? (fu bu guo san dai)



* Literally: Wealth does not pass three generations

* Meaning: It's rare the wealth of a family can last for three generation (the 2nd may see the value of hard work, the 3rd, forget it)

* Explanation: In business, the first generation works extremely hard, so that the second generation reaps the benefits. By the

time the third generation arrives, the wealth is squandered.



<a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chinese_proverbs">Reference: Wikiquote-- Chinese proverbs</a></blockquote>


Part of that is the dilutive effect of children, and having extra mouths to feed off the same fortune. Another factor is as time passes, competition increases, margins decrease, and management skill becomes more important.



My great-great grandmother had 200 acres and eight children. Once they split it up, my grandfather wound up with like 60 (he had to buy out two brothers to get that much).

My grandparents took that 60 acres and worked very hard to get another 140 acres, which just now got passed to my mom and uncle.

My parents started with 80 acres, and currently farm around 1000 acres, most of that was purchased from my grandmothers' estate when she passed away a couple of years ago (my dad had to borrow to pay off his sisters).

I'm lookin' at getting 20 acres. Something is wrong with me - I'm going backwards!



Then again, I don?t dream of great fortunes or lifestyles of the rich and famous. I want to take afternoons off and watch the Giants play on DirectTV Extra Innings and play with my dog. What defines "fortune" anyway?
 
[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1251869181][quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1251864662]

<em>(waiting patiently for LOST to come back. Please, JJ, please don't let me down with a garbage ending like Alias)</em></blockquote>
What? You didn't like that Sydney had a super-daughter like herself? And that whole Rambaldi sub-plot was just a chase for the Fountain of Youth and a mind-control device?



(sorry if I spoiled this for anyone)</blockquote>


I have watched all the episodes but what you just said above still doesn't make much sense (though I know it should)
 
[quote author="justbrowsing" date=1251858889]Agree with Anonymous.



????? (fu bu guo san dai)



* Literally: Wealth does not pass three generations

* Meaning: It's rare the wealth of a family can last for three generation (the 2nd may see the value of hard work, the 3rd, forget it)

* Explanation: In business, the first generation works extremely hard, so that the second generation reaps the benefits. By the

time the third generation arrives, the wealth is squandered.



<a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chinese_proverbs">Reference: Wikiquote-- Chinese proverbs</a></blockquote>


Here is one rare example and an inspiration where wealth transcend 3 generations:

Good virtue seldom transcends 3 generations while evil perpetuates a family tree forever. White paint is easily tainted and becomes gray while gray paint regardless of how much white is being added it is forever a shade of gray.



One American family for many generations have transformed from a shade of dark gray to almost white.



This is the Rockefeller family. I will not go into great details here because this family has accomplished so much.



It started with John Senior who founded Standard Oil and he was a ruthless business man who did shady things to his competitors. John Junior believed good deeds will lessen his father?s sin. Junior was the developer who developed the Rockefeller Center in New York during the Depression to help out the economy.



Junior married Abby an amazing woman with good virtue and taught her children well.



<img src="http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/time/1752-1.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:DogApPYAIBrZNM:http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1936/1101360127_400.jpg" alt="" />



I visited Colonial Williamsburg more than a decade ago and this was what I learned about this extra ordinary person. She was one of the wealthiest in the nation. Her favorite house where she spent most of her time raising her family was a humble small colonial cottage in this small town known today as Bassett Hall.



<img src="http://www.history.org/Almanack/places/hb/images/bassetthall/winter1.jpg" alt="" />





She and her husband in 1920?s was heart broken to see this township in dilapidated condition.



During the Depression of 1929 they launched a restoration program to refurbish all structures to meet the original conditions by employing artisans, architects, engineers, artists, and craftsmen.

<img src="http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/autumn04/images/perry_portrait.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://mappery.com/maps/Map-of-Colonial-Williamsburg.mediumthumb.pdf.png" alt="" />



The project was finished in 1935 and was the most published project of the WPA era even though it was privately sponsored.



<img src="http://www.history.org/visit/whatToSeeAndDo/historicArea/images/palace_aerial.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://z.about.com/d/honeymoons/1/5/b/O/5Garden.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://blog.mctimages.com/tiller_photography/images/2008/04/13/white_colonial_gouse.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="https://secure.reservexl.net/wwwimg/img/tours/3407-5.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/Spring09/images/off3.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/Spring09/images/off4.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://bethtrissel.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/colonial-williamsburg-home-and-garden1.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/Spring09/images/sm/off1.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://z.about.com/d/dc/1/0/3/K/cottage.jpg" alt="" />

<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Little_House.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Lightfoot_Kitchen.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Frosty_Morn.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Edinburgh_Castle.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Autumn_Afternoon.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Wythe_Courtyard.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Bruton_in_the_Rain.jpg" alt="" />

<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Roofs__Fences.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Saint_George_Tucker.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Spring_Garden.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Sign_of_the_Boot.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HhVGrCGT1uE/SMCNS1KV1AI/AAAAAAAACqs/BaLZyequVDA/s400/palace+rear.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.foliagenetwork.com/spotters/southeast_us/VA/pictures/a_williamsburg_whitehouse_williamsburg_va_large.jpg" alt="" />





An endowment was structured in 1935 to open this place to the public forever as a living museum to depict the lives of the early colonial pioneers.



Resident docents must wear period clothing and demonstrate a life necessity skill of that by gone era such as blacksmith, candle making, furniture crafting, quilting, musical entertaining, cooking, story telling and enactment of political debates. Williams and Mary College was also refurbished.



<img src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Kvxcok3e5ybdpM:http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/Almanack/places/hb/images/wrenbuildingaerial.jpg" alt="" />











No cars and any sign of modern living have been allowed on the township except for what the guest visitors are wearing.



<img src="http://www.etriptips.com/wiki/images/b/bd/05-GovPal.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.williamsburgart.com/images/wmbg/Walkinghome.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://cdn.travelmuse.com/docs/artwork/williamsburg/colonial-williamsburg-historic-stays-george-jackson-house-interior-large.jpg" alt="" />







<img src="http://z.about.com/d/gosoutheast/1/0/q/6/-/-/06-PalaceKitchen.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/Spring09/images/off3b.jpg" alt="" />







<img src="http://i.pbase.com/o6/02/14902/1/85821567.USVcbq11.BlacksmithinColonialWilliamsburg.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://z.about.com/d/honeymoons/1/5/-/O/2ColNursery.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://z.about.com/d/gosoutheast/1/0/r/6/-/-/05-MagazineInterior.jpg" alt="" />

<img src="http://image.baggersmag.com/f/15871580/0905_hrbp_15_z+tour_colonial_williamsburg+colonial_women.jpg" alt="" />



<img src="http://musiccelebrations.blogsome.com/images/williamsburg.JPG" alt="" />







This was just one out of thousands philanthropy projects that John and Abby did for humanity without other business motives that we often see today. This was just my experience. I also visited other museums created by their foundations to preserve our history and arts.



For those who is not interested in the Rockefeller legacy there is something for the Irvine folks around the out skirt of town.



<img src="http://www.williamsburgcc.com/tourism/shopping/images/PrimeoutletsnewimageWilliamsburgA056.jpg" alt="" />



Abby taught all her children the greatest satisfaction in life is not living lavishly and selfishly but to use the wealth to benefit the lives of other. The Rockefeller family is not one the top 100 wealthiest Americans today because they set aside a very high percentage of their wealth to helping others. The youngest boy David from the 3rd generation was born in 1915 and he is 94 this year.



<img src="http://www.radioliberty.com/bdr.jpg" alt="" />
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top