The answer is — you shouldn’t be like them! I don’t know if they have truly trusted Christ for their salvation and are sincerely seeking to serve Him; only God knows their hearts. But even then, they’ve forgotten Jesus’ commandment to love others. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

But what then should you be like? To put it another way, what place should God have in your life? I don’t know why you’ve chosen to turn your back on God — but why continue down that road any longer, when it only leads to unhappiness in this life and eternal separation from God in the next? The Bible warns, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).

The most important truth I can tell you is this: God loves you and wants you to come to know Him in a personal way so your life can be different. How do I know He loves you? I know it because He came down to earth in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who willingly gave His life for your salvation.

Don’t use your family’s failures as an excuse to keep God out of your life. You need Him, and some day you will stand before Him. Don’t let anything — or anyone — keep you from Christ, but open your heart and life to Him today.