by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.patlambchristianauthor.com
Train up a child…
A Good Dad Protects His Family
One of the major roles assigned to fathers is family protection. In days gone by, a dad would keep a gun by the door to protect his family against wild animals or anything that might be a harmful threat to his wife and children. Although dads no longer need to protect their families from wild animals, there are many other threats to be dealt with. In fact, it may have been easier to protect his family from the threats of yesteryear than the threats of today. Dads need to protect their families from physical, mental, social, and spiritual harm.
Today’s threats to physically harm a family come in the form of alcohol, drugs, poor health habits, or safety from storms. Dads need to keep their eyes wide open for any evidence of threats in these areas. When it comes to substance abuse, the best defense is to prevent the use of harmful items in the first place. It is much more difficult once their use has started to change a child’s habits. If a man’s home is his castle, then the man should make sure that his castle does not contain anything harmful to his family. Social drinking in homes has led to much alcohol abuse. Naturally, the children think that if dad and mom drink, it is alright for them to drink alcoholic beverages. In addition to protection from harmful drugs or alcohol, dads need to make sure that there is a tornado shelter or safe place to go in storms for his family.
Mental protection of children involves making sure that children are developing the right attitude toward moral behavior. It also involves making sure their children are getting a good education at school. Dads need to be involved in school activities. Some TV programs need to be restricted. A child can’t fill his/her mind with garbage and have good thoughts. Certain music should be prohibited as well as certain posters or art work in a child’s room. Dads need to be aware of the child’s interests. This may mean going into a child’s room and checking what is there. Teens often hide behind the “privacy” right. There should be some right to privacy but not if it involves wrongdoing by the child. Suspicion of such requires investigation.
Dads need to know about their children’s friends. It is best to help children make the right kind of friends rather than wait until the wrong kind is selected and try to remedy it. Either way, children should be protected from the influence of friends who would lead them to do wrong. Children should not be allowed to go places like some rock concerts and some movies. Dads need to teach children to show respect to all people, including their mother and teachers. Children need to learn good manners such as saying “excuse me”, “thank you”, “I’m sorry”, and “please”.
It is dad’s job to be the spiritual leader of the family. He should make sure the family is in church every Sunday. His job in the other four areas will be much easier if he fulfills this duty first. Good friends can be found at church. Church provides a safe place for making friends and learning proper behavior. Ideally, every father should lead a family devotional time each week at home to reinforce the spiritual truths learned at church. As children learn the power of prayer, they find the greatest protection of all. Dads would be wise to tap into this source of protection.
Dads have a daunting task when it comes to protecting the family. As Father’s Day approaches, let’s try to think of ways we can support the dads we know as they try to accomplish this task!