Parenting is a challenge.
That’s true whether a hundred years ago or today.
It doesn’t help that everyone has an opinion, and social media provides a platform to share unfiltered and often biased opinions.
How do we decide the parents we are meant to be? Today, let’s speak to the fathers in the crowd.
1 Timothy 3:4 paints an image of the unqualified top-tier example of an outstanding father. Timothy doesn’t go overboard either. He keeps the qualifications in this verse to only three.
“He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.”
Let’s break down Timothy’s instructions:
Instruction No. 1:
He must manage his own family well.
How does that work, as in, how can we tell if a father manages his own family well? Here’s what we can expect to see: a good mix of regulated and free time and family activities done together, both in work in in play.
Instruction No. 2:
He must see that his children obey him.
Limits, supervision, oversight, having a plan. He sets clear rules, explains them, and guides his children to work within them.
Instruction No. 3:
He must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.
This part is vital. Yelling, hitting, not allowed. Kindness and love under a watchful eye, yes! Here’s how to tell: the child’s eyes. Do they light up when their dad comes around? When they mess up, do they melt in fear? Worthy of full respect is the key.
Parenting is a challenge, which means we may not have mastered it yet. Don’t give up. Who you are is who your children will become.
When we show them the example of Christ, our children will choose Jesus.
Your children need you. It’s not too late to change today.
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