“And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” – Ephesians 6:4
Although many years have passed since our children were young, in my mind I can still see and hear them run into the house excitedly yelling, “Where’s Dad?” At times they were excited to share something with him that they could count on him liking. At other times, they would come into the house with head down and in a low tone of voice say, “Where’s Dad?”
Whether happy to share something with him, or afraid they were in trouble, they still knew that their dad was there to share happiness, or admonish.(Admonish means to reprimand someone firmly.)
Children need a dad. God designed it that way. It seems to me that moms tend to be soft and sympathetic while dads are firmer and more steadfast in expectations. Children need both, but many children are being raised without both in today’s society.
Many times when I have had book signings with my Scripture-based books, a dad may look at the books and say, “I’ll wait and see what my wife says. She is the one who deals with that”. It is plain to see that the dad is not taking his responsibility of bringing up his children in the training and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 makes it clear that fathers are responsible for the Christian upbringing of their children. In the absence of the dad, of course, mom must step in and take the responsibility.
Is it possible that the men in our country are somewhat confused as to their role? Perhaps the “women’s movement” has left many men wondering just what is expected of them.
Men need to take the responsibility of leading the family in Biblical ways. Wives need to be careful not to overstep their roles by dominating their husbands and taking the role of Spiritual leader. Wives are to act in a supportive role. There will be many times when a wife disagrees with the husband as to his child-rearing methods. They need to remember that God can speak to the husband and that perhaps he is right and the wife could be wrong. God knows that mothers tend to comfort. It is hard to watch a child be punished when often it is needed. Both the father and mother need to pray much for wisdom and fulfill individual roles in raising the children.
Now that our youngest son has two sons of his own, I have watched when they were toddlers run as fast as they could to meet their dad when he came home from work. “Daddy’s home!” they would yell as they had arms outstretched for a big hug from dad. Men who don’t fulfill their fatherly role with their children are missing out on a great deal. There is no other feeling in the world that compares to a child voluntarily throwing his/her arms around the neck of dad and giving a big hug and kiss. Dads need to be there! ν