C'mon Dads, Let's Do Our Thing!

I guess I’m just naturally an unbeliever. Oh, I don’t mean in the sense that I don't believe in Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour, because I do, passionately. I’m a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ; a disciple; a born again Christian: this I want to make abundantly clear. But when it comes to statistics, I have a tendency to doubt. When I hear a statistic like, “The average family has one and a half children”. Have you ever seen a family with a half a child? I mean, come on, get real!

But once in a while I hear a statistic which shocks me beyond words. Recently I heard that the average father spends thirty seconds a day with his child. Well, I looked into that. As it turns out , the truth of the matter is that the average father spends thirty seconds of ‘meaningful” conversation’ with their child. They speak of other things, like, “Turn the radio down!”, or “I don’t have time right now”, or “Pass the potatoes” (without even saying ‘please’). But the child does get thirty seconds a day talking about the more serious matters of the heart and of life.

That’s like, three-and-a half minutes a week!

Do you realize that adds up to three hours and four minutes a year altogether - almost as much time as a good baseball game on T.V. Who could ask for anything more?

Well, the child could, for one. He or she could ask for more time with Dad. Every child has heroes, and, instinctively, one of the major heroes in life is Dad. Even though Dad may be a grovelling drunk, the instinct still preserves a certain amount of awe and respect for Dad. Father is a power figure in life, and nothing can totally abolish that fact. Read Prov. 17:6:

“Children's children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their father.”

But if Dad’s not there with depth and answers, every child will search for another hero to temporarily fill the gap.

Fathering is a massive responsibility, and thirty seconds a day will not be sufficient to fulfill those responsibilities. God said, in Deut. 6:6-7:

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

I hardly think thirty seconds a day would be enough to discharge that responsibility. And that refers only to the responsibility of passing on the word of God to the next generation. There are other things which need time, discussion, prayer and full attention. And of course, there are the times of fun, and games and levity which are also essential in the home. All these should involve father.

And then of course there is the matter of discipline. This of course, is inevitably meaningful time spent with your child. Let’s read Heb. 12:5-7:

“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?”

C’mon Dads, let’s do our thing! Otherwise we may find that our homes are homes with more than statistical half-children.