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In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, we see Miles and the Spider-Gang doing what they do. We see Peter, and he now has a daughter with spider powers (which is mildly terrifying for a toddler to be able to web sling all over the place).
In the movie, we see Peter tell Miles something really interesting. He says, “Seeing you and how cool you are made me think that maybe having a kid wouldn’t be so bad if they could turn out like you.” Now this month, we’re talking about influencing the next generation, how we have a place and a voice in the lives of those coming up behind us. And that goes for the generation above me and below me. I want the generation above me to speak to my generation and me, and I want my generation to speak to the next generation.
But sometimes, it’s not just voices; it’s actions. And this concept can cross going up or down from generation because there are things that I can learn from the younger generation as a millennial, and then there are things that the next generation above me can learn from me. But as we said, it’s not always words; sometimes, it’s just watching people. I don’t know about anybody else, but I am very observant. I watch how people act and see if it matches their words because it helps me to know if I can trust them. If your actions match your words, I will trust you more than if your words and actions don’t mesh up. And that is an influence on me.
Miles didn’t realize that Peter was paying attention to him, just like Peter didn’t realize that Miles had picked up some of his habits. They were watching each other and didn’t realize it, even though they spoke into each other’s lives. Psalms says,
I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done.
Psalm 78:2-4 (English Standard Version | ESV)
There are practical things that we can tell others about. We can tell others about what God has done in our lives and how He provided for us when there was no other way. We can tell them about the things God has done in our lives. But it won’t be as impactful if we don’t act like God has done miraculous things in our lives. In the first Spider-verse movie, we see Peter sharing wisdom with Miles. And then, we see how Miles’s actions have affected Peter. There’s so much that we can learn from the generations above and the generations below, as well as our own generation. We can learn so much from everyone but keep in mind that everyone is watching to see if your words match your actions. It is so important to do this