Being a Good Father to Your Children
For me to convey the meaning of a good father, I feel it’s necessary to first bring up some alarmingly ugly facts that should not only get your attention, but also give you a sense of what we’re up against. In other words, to tell what a good father is, I believe I must first pursue the bad direction in which our fatherly images have traveled in the past few decades.
Parent’s Purpose
One could argue that the alarmists have focused blame on what’s wrong with our youth and pointed to the parental figures in the home as the culprits, in many cases. While this may have been done many times for different reasons, it is extremely appropriate, at this time, to examine the impact of fathering in our youth’s culture.
Today we could ask almost anyone on the street what a good father is really like, and unless we were speaking to the very few individuals who seem to think that we need a strong family leader, the answers would probably be somewhat shocking. The group might tell you that fathers usually try to get the sympathy of other family members, including their wives. He may go about this in a childish manner, begging for attention. Of course, the all-powerful television has hammered this image home in it’s portrayal of the idiot, pathetic, subservient father and husband.
I digress, as television can only be held responsible to an extent. Over the years, our culture has become so liberal that strength and leadership is shunned by many and avoided by most. Seldom do we see elected to public office, true leaders of character, ability and strength. We can say the same fore the father image, as well. Perhaps a strong-willed, God-fearing head of the household projected in either real life or fiction would be damaging to the youth, with his domineering personality, causing children to be subservient and silenced in their true voice and expressions.
I say this is not so! The only way one learns true leadership and strength early in life is by example. Unfortunately, there seems to be no one to perpetuate this image as we have lost almost all of our examples as fatherly leadership is concerned. The young man grows up with a weak father and does not have anyone with whom to identify, so he does not know what a real man is. He sees the dad allowing the good mother of the home to carry on his responsibilities, while he grossly neglects the family in many different ways.
Christian Youth Home
So you’re probably wondering when I’m going to get around to tell you what I thing a good father is. No doubt, by describing the deficiencies of a bad father, I am telling you what a good father is. Certainly, the good father is the opposite of the weak and cowardly, irresponsible father. I would prefer seeing a strong-willed, man of character pass his child, and in doing so, observe the child somewhat flinching in fear of the repercussions of their actions, than see the reaction of most children to their father today. Maybe I’m a bit old fashioned, but I really feel children of all ages should have a type of fearful respect for their fathers: not because he is going to harm them physically, but because they have been brought up to the point that they dread him giving them even a glance of disdain.
Protecting your child in a seductive world
A good father does the things we traditionally picture a father doing with their child. This includes teaching his kids to ride a bike, playing ball or taking them fishing; cultivating the bond between himself and his daughters, and being a strong, yet also a sympathetic figure. He can be all of these things and at the same time, be a true example and the leader of his family. To take the helm of the family as the leader, guiding the household through the storm times it faces through the years.
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