Understanding the Purpose and Power of Men

How to Be a Good Father

everything he wanted.‖ That was the problem. You don‘t give your child everything he wants. You give him what he needs. There are times when love has to be tough. Some fathers don‘t have the backbone for that. They are afrai d to punish their children, so they leave it up to their wives. The Bible never says the mother is to correct the children; it says the father is to discipline them. Yet how many fathers leave dis cipline up to the mothers? Some fathers don‘t punish their children because they want the children to like them. They don‘t realize the effect this has on their families. The children begin to love their mother more than their father because they know their mother cares enough to correct them. They think, ―Daddy doesn‘t really love me.‖ They may also grow up believing a parent isn‘t supposed to discipline his children, so they don‘t become good agents of correction for their own children. If you love your children, you will correct them. There is a popular idea today that every person should take total responsibility for himself or herself, no matter how young that person is —that a child has ―children‘s rights‖ that are the same as an adult‘s. This philosophy teache s that a parent cannot spank a child as a disciplinary measure. If this happens, the child should be able to go to court and get an injunction against his parent for hurting him. It also says a child should also be able to ―divorce‖ his pa rents. What the world is saying is that children should be al lowed to bring themselves up. This idea is foolish. You don‘t 4. A Good Father Is Responsible for His Children

treat children as adults. Children are children; grown-ups are grown-ups. Sometimes adults act like children. But children are definitely not adults and shouldn‘t be treated as if they were.

Who is really

raising your

children?

Parents have a responsibility before God to raise their child ren. God does not leave the care and upbringing of your children to themselves or to society. He leaves it to you. How much time do you spend with your children? Who is really bringing them up? Perhaps you and your wife leave for work early in the morning and don‘t return until late in

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