The Making Of A Man Series

1 KINGS 2: 1-4

THE MAKING OF A MAN / BECOMING A MAN

[2 Samuel 7:12-16 / Deuteronomy 17:18-20]

The final words of a father to a son are profoundly significant, especially when a transfer of divine purpose and responsibility are involved. King David had some advice for his son Solomon as he lay dying. When his time drew near, he charged his son Solomon to be spiritually strong, obedient, and faithful. Sounds like wise advice to me; advice that still resonates a few thousand years later.

Newspaper columnist Abigail Van Buren wrote, "If you want your children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders." Responsibility isn't a curse, it's a blessing. Booker T. Washington said, "Few things help an individual more that to place responsibility upon him and to let him know that you trust him."

To become a man means your willing to take responsibility for how you live your life. Irresponsible people run away, make excuses or blame others, but those who do never learn to become men or women of integrity and proven character, nor do they know the joy of the Lord or inherit the promises He gives to the faithful.

David became a real man, because he was a man after God's own heart. Yes, he had his warts and blemishes, but he became a man of God, and received promises from God like few others ever have. David determined not to run away from away from his difficulties and sins but to faced them and thus he learned what it takes to become a real man.

Do we men still need such advice today? I think so. Fathers are too significant not to learn to become real men. Let's read through some statistics and find out just how incredibly important the Dad's role is simply for children to become well-adjusted adults.

- 43% of US children live without their father [US Department of Census]

-63% of teen suicides are from fatherless homes. That's 5 times the national average. SOURCE: [U.S. Dept of Health H.S., Bureau of the Census]

-90% of all runaways and homeless children are from fatherless homes. That's 32 times the national average.[US D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census]

-80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes. 14 times the national average. SOURCE: [Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, pp. 403-26, 1978]

-85% of children with behavioral problems come from fatherless homes. 20 times the national average. SOURCE: Center for Disease Control

-71% of pregnant teenagers lack a father. [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press release, Friday, March 26, 1999]

-71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. 9 times the national average. SOURCE: National Principals Association Report

-75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes. 10 times the national average. SOURCE: Rainbow's for all God's Children

-85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes. 20 times the national average. SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Justice

-Daughters of single parents without a Father involved are 53% more likely to marry as teenagers, 711% more likely to have children as teenagers, 164% more likely to have a pre-marital birth and 92% more likely to get divorced themselves.

-85% of youths in prisons grew up in a fatherless home. [Fulton County Georgia jail populations, Texas Department of Corrections, 1992]

[-Fatherless boys and girls are: twice as likely to drop out of high school; twice as likely to end up in jail; four times more likely to need help for emotional or behavioral problems. [US D.H.H.S. news release, March 26, 1999]

[Children with involved Fathers are more confident, better able to deal with frustration, better able to gain independence and their own identity, more likely to mature into compassionate adults, more likely to have a high self esteem, more sociable, more secure as infants, less likely to show signs of depression, less likely to commit suicide, more empathetic, boys have been shown to be less aggressive and adolescent girls are less likely to engage in sex.]

Homes need a dad and fathers obviously need the help [wisdom] that we can find here. In our passage of Scripture, God teaches us a great lesson on becoming a man from His man David. David is now discharging a summation of his advise and hope to his son Solomon. We become men of God by maintaining our spiritual duties [obedience] and by wisely fulfilling our practical responsibilities (CIT).

David followed the instruction he here gives his son and had lead Israel to become the greatest nation on the face of the planet. There was no competition. Israel was in a position that few other countries in the world have enjoyed in history. Their enemies have mostly been defeated and they are have enter into a time of prosperity. David, as King, had become the most powerful man on earth, but he was still being a dad to his son.