"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4 KJV)
There are few problems in our society here in the USA that can not be traced back to a failure of fathers to instill Godliness in their children. In a time when men (and women too) are consumed, sometimes literally as with drugs and alcohol, by their own wants and desires, the spiritual needs of their children as well as their physical well being is often neglected. Speaking from past experience I can tell you that men, at least those men that do not know the Lord, see teaching their children as “women’s work.” Therefore the children are not brought up scripturally, with a Godly father teaching them respect and responsibility. As a result, we have generations of children and youth who are provoked to wrath because of the lack of Godly influence in their homes.
Our jails and prisons are filled with young men who had no father at home; they are bitter and angry mostly because of the lack of a Godly example. It is more than sad that our churches suffer too from this lack of Godly men to step up and take on their God appointed role. Praise God that there were women willing to fill the vacancies created by the lack of Spiritually mature men. Guys, we have failed in our obligation to God, family, and church by not taking up the God ordained mantle of leadership. It is not too late to right this wrong; we begin by surrendering ourselves to God and the guidance of His Holy Spirit so that we can be the men God created us to be, the Spiritual leaders of family and church. Children desperately need a Godly father figure to give them a solid foundation in life.
Whatever your feelings about the roles of men and women, the fact remains that God has ordained the man, the father, to be the spiritual head of the household. Until we return to this Biblical mandate from God, our homes, our schools, our streets, and our churches will continue to be troubled by the failure of the men of our society to take up their responsibility to nurture their children in the admonition of the Lord.
Go, and be that Godly example.
