Thursday June 14, 2018

 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 43% of children in America do not have a biological father in the home, that’s a staggering 24 million children. According to the CDC, 85% of children showing signs of behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. According to a report by the National Principal’s Association, 71% of High School dropouts come from a fatherless home. The Department of Health and Human Services reports that 71% of pregnant teens have no father present in their lives. The U.S. Department of Census found that 63% of youth suicides result from fatherless homes. According to the Justice and Behavior Report, 80% of rapists who also have anger problems come from fatherless homes and 90% of all homeless and runaway children come from fatherless homes. Other statistics show that children who come from fatherless homes have a much higher propensity towards alcoholism, drug abuse, crime, and all other sorts of destructive behaviors.

 

 

“Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.” – Deuteronomy 1:29-31 NLT

 

Essential Character Traits of a Good Father

 

1. A great father must be PRESENT

 

The statistics are clear, the absence of a father in the home can and will be harmful. How much or how little a father earns, how talented they are, where they work, or who they know is far less important than being present in the life of their children. Time is not like money; money can be wasted, even mishandled but eventually it can be replaced. A child will have just one first birthday, one first day of school, and the more a father is part of a child’s upbringing, the more the chances are that the child will grow to become a successful and well-adapted person. That is why the most important thing a father can do is to be present in the life of their child.

 

2. A great father must be a PROTECTOR

 

When I was a child I felt safe no matter where I was as long as my father was present. Fathers position themselves between their children and danger and most often the children never even perceive that they were in any danger. Perhaps the one thing that is worse than an absent father is a father whose children feel afraid when he is around or who need to be protected from him. Children should respect their father but they should also always feel safe when they are around their father and never afraid. A father’s responsibility is to be his child’s protector.

 

3. A great father must be a PROVIDER

 

In today’s modern society, it has become necessary for both parents to work in order to meet the financial obligations of the family. But in spite of this, a father is responsible for being the provider for his children. More than money, a father should provide vision, wisdom, counsel, friendship, Spiritual direction, and whatever else is necessary for a child to develop into a God-loving, responsible, and well-adjusted member of society. A father must be a provider who is present and sensitive to the needs of his children.