Friday June 15, 2018

 

Do we really need dads? In a recent high-profile conference, a Hollywood mega star actress said, “women are realizing it more and more, knowing that they don’t have to settle with a man just to have a child”. Her perspective is highly appealing in an era when millions of women are having children out of marriage. Presently, women are becoming the main source of income for their families while also raising their children on their own. This wide-growing belief leads to the conclusion that dads are no longer as necessary as they once were purported to be.

 

The problem with this view is that it ignores the overwhelming number of social, political, scientific, and religious studies and census’ that indicate that children who grow up in a fatherless home are more likely to drop out of school, run away from home, abuse drugs and alcohol, become criminals and populate our jails, commit suicide, and suffer from all sorts of disorders and destructive behaviors at a much higher rate than those children who grew up with a father in their home. The truth is that all the research points to the fact that fathers are an indispensable component in the life of their children.

 

The father of a righteous child has great joy;  a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. – Proverbs 23:24 NIV

 

Essential Character Traits of a Good Father Pt. 2

 

4. A great father is a FIGHTER

 

Great fathers understand that the fight is not about making themselves successful, they understand that it is about fighting to make their children successful. Great fathers understand their personal flaws and weaknesses, but they fight for their children so that they don’t have to inherit the same flaws and weaknesses. Great fathers are more than mere financial providers, they are fighters and they fight for the spiritual, moral, social, and physical wellbeing of their children.

 

5. A great father PRAYS

 

Great fathers are spiritual leaders. Great fathers may not be the most religious figure in their home, but they are the spiritual leaders in their families. Great fathers are praying fathers, they pray for their children. They understand their limited abilities but recognize that God is all knowing, all-powerful, and omnipresent, therefore they pray that God would become strong where they are not able. Great fathers pray for their children.

 

6. A great father is a PROPHET

 

Great fathers look at their children in the eyes, and they tell them that they were created by God and for God to do great things. Great fathers know who their children are and tell them who they can become. Great fathers prophecy to their children and tell them that they can do better, that they can be successful, they tell them they could be a winner and they tell them that they can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens them. A great father is a prophet.