Friday, June 19, 2015
Huh?
This month millions of Americans will celebrate the men in
their lives who have been fathers and father figures. These men are worthy of celebration. One of the few things that most theologians,
scientists, sociologists, psychiatrists, judges, psychologists and many others
agree on, is that societies thrive in direct proportion to the amount of good
fathering that takes place.
We celebrate our fathers because they teach us to be
responsible, to respect authority, and to respect others -- these are
world-changing values. We thank our
fathers for providing security, discipline and love -- these are foundational
to our personal stability and to the stability of our communities. We value our fathers for teaching us to swim,
play football, fish, cook or whatever other skills they can pass on to us. Often it is a father figure that teaches us a
craft or points us in the right direction as we pursue a career -- their wisdom
and encouragement can make all the difference.
The influence a father can provide is so important that
courts mandate their involvement in the lives of their children whenever
possible. We expect fathers to influence
their children in areas of money management, hygiene, hunting, driving, and
social interactions. We ask them to teach,
to offer opinions and to hold us accountable - and this is an immense benefit
to those they influence. Thank you
fathers for teaching... for influencing... for holding us accountable.
Often fathers make a lasting impression on our political
opinions, on the way we bait our hooks and on the way we treat the women in our
lives. If they are good fathers, they
help to propagate a good society by these influences. We expect them to
influence and we are disappointed when they don't. But when it comes to God and religion our
culture often warns, "Don't force your religion on your kids. Let them make their own minds." Huh?
Teach them how to brush their teeth, care for their lawn, and get a job,
but don't teach them about the things that will affect every relationship in
this life and their entire eternity? Are
we saying we want some of the most important influencers in the world to major
on the minors? Do we want fathers to
suppress their best advice and their greatest wisdom? Huh?
Statistically, strong argument can be made that
much of the violence, disrespect and chaos we are experiencing in our society
is the result of fathers taking the advice of social engineers to take the
politically-correct approach and to not speak the most important lessons into
the lives of those in their care? With
that in mind, maybe this month would be
a good time to approach your father or father figure and ask them, "What
do you think about God... about morals... about respect... about the eternal
principles of life, huh?" 
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