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Saturday, July 14, 2012

Fathers—step up!

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June is the month we celebrate Father’s Day. And for many, they deserve this honor. We don’t simply want to give equal billing to fathers this month because we gave homage to mothers a month ago. It’s more important than that.

The message that is going out to society today is that fathers are simply not needed. The number of women choosing to be single moms is growing astronomically. But there are just as many men in America today who father children they have no intention of raising. The church, therefore, needs to send out the message loud and clear that fathers play a critical role in the life of the family.

I really hate the way fathers are portrayed on TV. Most of them are either mentally unaware or total buffoons. They bring about laughs but the subliminal message is clear, “Fathers are idiots!”

Because of the message being broadcast over and over, more and more wives believe they can raise a family easier without the father figure. More and more children are expressing less and less respect for the father’s role. This was never God’s intention. In fact, God has placed tremendous value on the father figure.

The story on the radio the other day told of a wild life preserve that had to remove several mature elephants to make room … the adolescent elephants became very unruly and began to attack the rhinos. To fix the problem; they had to return some mature male elephants to the herd. This cured the problem.

Father’s will have a powerful impact upon their families. To do so with God’s blessing, they will need to connect in two crucial areas.

One: the role of a father to connect to his God. “And these words, which I have commanded you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and daughters…” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

God told his people, “Look, you can’t just presume that these instructions I’ve given you and all the stories of the amazing miracles I did for you are going to make it from one generation to another. You as parents must be very deliberate. Tell your children the stories of how I moved among you. Talk with them about the instructions and commands I gave you and why I gave them to you. This is not a one-time event or a ‘whenever-you-get-around-to-it’ thing. No - this is to be a regular daily part of your job as a parent.”

Two: the role of the father to connect to his family.  A Harvard University study reported that fathers in the U.S. spend less time with their children than fathers in any other nation in the world, except England.

If our city announced  they  were  introducing  chemicals  into   our drinking water that would stunt our children’s physical growth, we’d go crazy! Yet we will allow the popular culture to introduce ideas and behaviors into our child’s mind that stunts their moral development.

We need you fathers. You are not buffoons, nor are you unaware. God placed tremendous value on you and we need you to step up.

[Ron Otto, Lincoln Christian Church]

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