“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6, King James Version
I know that Father’s Day is a few months past, but lately I’ve found myself dwelling on the subject of fatherhood and parenting in general. A couple of things have honed my focus.
The first is the latest movie from Sherwood Productions, “Courageous.” The movie follows four law enforcement officers in a small town. We see firsthand the importance of parents in the lives of children. The influence of a father, particularly on sons, is drawn with fine and poignant strokes. Likewise, we see the impact of a father’s absence, whether physical or emotional.
A father has the ability to make a child feel safe and wanted or abandoned and useless. As a mother, I know how important a mother’s role is in the child’s life, but I also know that a father has a vital part. A mother can teach her son to be a good person, but a father teaches him to be a good man. The father sets the pattern. Virgil put it this way: “As the twig is bent the tree inclines.”
Another reminder comes from Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree Ministry. This wonderful project reaches out to the children of people in prison and reminds them that they have value and are not forgotten just because a parent is in legal trouble. Where the parent can’t set an example, Christians in the community can.
Abraham Maslow described the need to belong as a one of the basic human needs. When children don’t find that need met at home, they may look for it somewhere else. That “somewhere” may be in a gang or an abusive relationship. Or it may be under the guidance of a Christian mentor who is willing to fill the gap left by an ineffective parent.
Are you helping to train up the next generation? Do you serve as a teacher, mentor or encouraging friend? Can you look back on your role as a parent and say, “I set the best example I could” for your child? Will you sponsor a child in need?
Today, more than ever, the children of our world need our participation. We can’t sit back and wait for someone else to do it. We are called to act, to set the example for future generations. Maybe you can’t help a large number of children, but will you help one?
Father, Thank You for the example You set for us. Please give us wisdom to recognize children in need and the courage to reach out to our own children and others in the world as reminders of Your love for them. Give us strength to stay the course, for the sake of the children and in Your name.
References:
Biblegateway: Proverbs 22:6: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2022:6&version=KJV
Courageous Movie Site: http://www.courageousthemovie.com/
Brainy Quotes: Virgil: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/v/virgil121127.html
Angel Tree Ministry: http://www.angeltree.org/angeltreehome
Saul Mcleod: Maslow Hierarchy of Needs: http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html