[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Friday, June 7, 2013

[Paul]

Hello and good day to all my cyberspace readers and saints of the Most High God, wherever in this world you happen to live.  I hope that, by God's matchless grace and His providential care, that your day is going well or went well.

Pastor Robert Rathbun is editor of "The Gospel Messenger" magazine, the official publication of the Gospel Association for the Blind and pastor of the First Baptis Church of Lowell MA.  The following article was written some years ago by him, but is still as relevant today as it was when he wrote it.  Entitled "A Good Dad," it is rendered as follows:

In the month of June, we seek to honor dear old Dad with Father's Day.  Much more is made of Mother's Day than is made of Father's Day, yet dads are important, too.  The breakdown of the family unit can be traced in significant measure to Dad not taking his rightful place as head of the family.  Many wives compete with their husbands for head of the family.  Then again, many men feel that, if they impregnate their wives, they have done the manly thing and the rest is up to the wife.  This article is written in an effort to instruct men regarding their responsibilities and duties as a dad; so men, listen up!

A DAD IS TO BE A LEADER:
Dad should be the leader of his family.  God has designated the man to be the head of the house.  "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church:  and He is the Savior of the body.  Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing" (Ephesians 5:22-24).  "Children, obey your parents in the Lord:  for this is right.  Honor thy father and thy mother:  which is the first commandments with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth" (Ephesians 6:1-3).  So both Mom and children are to be in subjection to Dad as the head of the family.  But in what is Dad to lead? He should lead in family devotions, gathering his family around him to teach them the Word of God.  But, Dad, you cannot teach what you do not know.  Thus, you can see the importance of your learning the Word of God for yourself.  Dad is to lead in family fun.  Dad should be willing to play with his children--and enjoy it! To read to his children, play games with them, enter into their world of make-believe, teach them how to spin a top, build with Lincoln Logs, play with a fire engine or a doll, and so on.  Dad should lead them in adventure--a walk through the woods, a ride on a Ferris wheel, a swim in the lake.

A DAD SHOULD BE A LOVER:
Dad should be a lover of God and of his family.  He should let his family see that, while they are subject to his rule, he himself submits joyfully to the will of God.  In so doing, he sets an example of obedience for his family.  "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:5).  Dad is to love Mom.  The greatest thing that a father can do for his children is to love their mom.  "Husbands, love your wives, even as also Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25).  And fathers are to love their children.  This love helps motivate Dad to provide for them and to train them properly.

A DAD IS TO BE A TEACHER:
A dad is to teach his children many things.  He teaches them what a man should be by giving them an example.  Many children today are without this example, and they suffer for it.  A dad is to model gentleness amid strength, honesty in a world of dishonesty, and caring in a world of selfishness.  A dad is in every way to teach his children about God.  "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).  A dad is to teach his children about God at all times.  A dad should also teac his children values:  fair play, good sportsmanship, honesty, good manners, to take responsibility for your actions, and how to think through a problem.  A dad will teach his son how to laugh, how to sing, how to think of others; he will teach him how to catch a baseball, how to saw a board, and how to treat a woman with respect; he will teach him a sense of humor, to finish the jobs he begins, and the joy of worshiping God.  A dad should teach his children respect--to respect people for their feelings, to respect property, and to respect people in authority.  One of the most important things a dad should teach his children is obedience.  From the time a child is brought home from the hospital till they leave the old homestead, they should be learning obedience.

To tell a baby not to cry is asking more than the baby is able to understand or perform.  Make sure your commands are reasonable, but then expect them to be obeyed the first time, not the fourth time.  Make sure that punishments fit the severity of the crime rather than fitting your mood of the moment.  Teach your children obedience during the first two or three years of their lives, and you will make your life a lot simpler and more pleasant from then on.

A DAD SHOULD BE A WORKER:  Dad is given the responsibility of providing for his family.  "But if any man provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Timothy 5:8).  God declared that man is to work by the sweat of his brow.  It is the man's job to provide for his loved ones, not to depend on welfare to do so.  Welfare is viewed by some as an entitlement, and for this reason, it is not unusual for a welfare family to have a second and a third generation of welfare recipients.  The example a welfare dad gives his children is that this is the way to live.  God says, "No."  Dads are to work!

I'm sure that there is a lot more to good parenting than I have mentioned here.  Nevertheless, the man who will carry out these instructions faithfully will be well on his way to being a good dad.  Are you ready, sir, to be the dad God wants you to be?

And there you have Pastor Bob's article for today.  Incidentally, he is also the Bible instructor for the Hadley School for the Blind.

Now I can anticipate some dads who read this article asking with justification,  "Well, if I'm supposed to work and the jobs are unavailable, how else can I provide for my family other than welfare, especially if my wife is a stay-at-home mom?" If I could write to Pastor Rathbun, that is what I would ask personally, even though I'm single.  Nevertheless I hope that you dads who read this have gained some benefit from his submission.

And now until tomorrow when, Lord willing another daily thought message will be forthcoming, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul