The ripple effect of a good father

“I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever;  with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations (Psalm 89:1).”

I recently received advice from an old friend about getting my kids (including a couple who are not kids anymore) to participate in our economic situation at home.  We are all living under the same roof for the first time in years, but as it is with a lot of people in this recession, times are tough for us.

I was laying awake in the wee hours the other night thinking, as I sometimes do.  It occurred to me that perhaps we should start some kind of family business. After all, we have a lot of gifted people amongst us.  Surely we could think of something that would help us make some money. 

But there would be other benefits besides money to our involvement in this enterprise. Something of this kind could really serve to unite us.  Working together on a common project bonds people together.

It’s part of my job as a father to train my family.  Even the adult children under my roof should be able to come to me for counsel.   So this weekend I intend to hold a family meeting and broach this idea of a family business and the need for our family to all pitch in as an economic unit.

There are a lot of benefits for a father who participates in the lives of his children.  If we do our job right, our children  will bring us peace, joy, and even delight (Proverbs 29:3,17).  If we ignore our responsibilities as fathers to train our children, especially in the things of God, we do them a disservice. They will be less likely to curb their human capacity to engage in sin, either ones of commission or those of omission. They will make us and themselves miserable.

The apostle Paul had a relationship with a young man he called his “dear son” (II Timothy 1:2).  They weren’r related, but they had a father-son connection. Paul loved this man Timothy. Because of this, he exhorted the young man to “fan into flame the gift of God”.  (This gift was even imparted to Timothy by Paul!)    Paul charged him to be bold  in his use of this gift (I Timothy 1:4-7).

It’s our job as dads to love and teach our children. Their Christian lives  depend on our willingess to do this. So do the lives of their children, and their children’s children.