Father's Day: Celebrate and Reflect
Be the best man you can be
Proverbs 1:8: - Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching.
Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go; when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Ephesians 6:1-2 - Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise. [that your days may be long in the land]
While pondering on what to write for today’s Father Day substack, I couldn’t help but think about all the verses that show the interchange between a parent and their child - and how the Bible is the best How To Book for nurturing these relationships. I stumbled across this site, with 30+ verses for Father’s Day and several similar sites. Enjoy!
My dad passed away in his sleep in 1996. I didn’t have the best relationship with my father, but he (and my mom) certainly raised me with solid principles that have shaped my entire life:
Never lie, no matter what.
Don’t steal: you always have more than enough.
Don’t gossip: if you have nothing good to say, say nothing.
When possible, always address conflicts in private: don’t air dirty laundry.
Don’t do dumb things that would embarrass your family or damage your reputation.
Trust in the Lord, He will never let you down.
Never be afraid to ask: the worst they will tell you is ‘no.’
Trust your instincts. Be fearless in all that you do.
… and on and on.
And then I look at so many of the youth today.
Obsessed with ‘gender confusion’ and social signaling. Boys in girls’ bathrooms. Boys obliterating women’s sports. Boys dressed as the most outrageous Drag Queens, leading Story Hour at local public libraries. Girls completely covered with symbolized tattoos, offensive body piercings, and using bizarre, unflattering hair colors as forms of ‘self expression’. Young women who are teachers, allowing sexually explicit books in the classroom and encouraging 5-year old children to choose and practice their ‘pronoun of the day.’ Children allowed to ‘identify’ as a cat and allowed to go to the bathroom in kitty litter boxes. And worst, allowing children as young as 3 years choose their gender and encouraging teens to go through irreversible, body mutilating “transition surgery” - while being cheered on my woke leftists…and even their parents.
When I see these displays, I recall that it wasn’t that long ago many of these behaviors would have been diagnosed as mental illnesses and treated accordingly.
But today, for the sake of DEI - ‘diversity’, ‘equality’, and ‘inclusivity’, - we’ve allowed every abnormal, even bizarre, behavior to be normalised: from autism (a treatable medical condition) to pedophilia (a perversion now given a catchy name: minor attracted person) to zoophiles (those who believe in sex with animals.)
I always say to myself, “WHERE ARE THEIR PARENTS?”
How did we let things get this far??
I recalled a video from a few years back of a mom who saw her son at a protest, participating in the rioting. She marched right over to him in the middle of the crowd, smacked him a few times and said, “Momma don’t play” and chased him home.
Watch:
Oh, I know. Many of you, like the CNN and MSNBC commentators, will be appalled that she slapped her son a few times, calling it “unnecessary violence.” Really? What about this:
Proverbs 19:17 - Discipline your son, and it will bring you peace of mind and give you delight.
She was demonstrating righteous anger and embarrassment that HER son was throwing rocks at the police. She made her point. Bigly. This video was from 8 years ago; it would be interesting to know where this young man is today, with a strong mother who did not put up with his nonsense for one minute. Even the police said they wish they had MORE parents who would take control of their children like this.
Indeed.
For all the participatory and engaged fathers who are reading this today, CONGRATULATIONS - and Thank You. The world labels your strength as ‘toxic masculinity’ and discriminates against your hard work, calling your success ‘white privilege.’ Thank you for planting your feet and holding the line. Thank you for standing up and being the man - the father, son, friend, husband - God has called you to be.
Your children need you to teach them values. Your sons need to be shown proper etiquette and how to treat girls/women with respect. Your daughters need to know how to say NO to inappropriate sexual advances and how to dress respectfully. All of your children need instruction on how to navigate the very challenging world they are growing up in. They need to know the history of this country and that America was founded on Biblical principles, the meaning of Freedom of Speech, the importance of 2A, and why relying on the government for ‘happiness’ and ‘free stuff’ is wrong. They need to be shown that IF they lose this country, their freedoms will never come back. Ever.
They need to SEE a man who takes care of his family - provides shelter, direction, unity. They need to SEE what leadership in action - personally and professionally - is really about. They need you to pray with them and guide them spiritually. They need you to lead by example; how else will they learn? They watch you; do you like what they see?
As families across America celebrate and honor our physical fathers on this day, it may be a good time to take stock: Are you being the best father you can be? If so, wonderful! If not, perhaps an apology will lead to forgiveness and healing. And then, it’s time for a little course correction over the upcoming year.
Ask yourself,
“How can I be a better leader in my family? How can I take better care of my aging parents; afterall, they won’t be here forever. How can I be a more attentive, more loving husband? How can I be a better friend to the other men (and women) in my life? How can I be a better mentor to my kids? What skills can I teach them, skills they will have and appreciate their entire adult life? How do I want my children to remember me - and our relationship - when I’m gone?”
And most of all, it’s an important day to remember our Heavenly Father - what He has done for each of us. How much He loves us, how He gives us what we need, and how He lovingly but sternly disciplines us when we need it. He has given us a User Manual to learn how to follow His lead. If you’re not using it, perhaps today is a great day to get started digging into the Bible, His Word. The more you know Him, the more you strive to be more like Jesus, the more you will know that He will never let you down.
Today’s Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, Abba father, God to us all: thank you that we have a special day to set aside and honor our physical fathers here on Earth. We’re grateful for every effort our Dads have put forth and for any ‘course correction’ You can provide that would allow our Men to be better stewards to all of us. Let respect amongst all parties grow and let Your love flow through us all to others. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Each Saturday, I release a substack called “Eye on the Evidence.” You can find it here. You can also find out more about my podcasts, supplements and apparel by going to DrTenpenny.com
Well done and all encompassing!
Amen!