A Dads Legacy

Father’s Day

“A Dad’s Legacy”

When it comes to holidays, Father’s Day isn’t up there very high, in fact, it might be at the bottom of the ladder, especially when compared to Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is huge deal and is highly advertised. Hallmark and flower shops make a fortune on Mothers Day, but not fathers on their special day. The only one who may benefit on Father’s Day would be Craftsman Tools, and the fathers buy them for themselves.

A small boy said, "Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much."

The good thing about Father’s Day is that we get to choose where we want to eat, but the bad part is that we have to pay the bill when it’s over.

And heaven help the father who forgets Mother’s Day. If they do they’ll find themselves in the doghouse until Father’s Day, or more like Independence Day, which never comes soon enough as far as fathers who forget Mother’s Day are concerned.

Even in churches, Father’s Day isn’t half as big as Mother’s Day, and sermons are usually geared towards what father’s are doing wrong; rather than what they are doing right and God’s calling upon their lives.

Society today, with Satan at its helm, is making fathers the brunt of their jokes, which if said or made toward women or a people of color would be considered abusive and racist. And the reason is to make fathers disposable, and if Satan can do this, then he has successfully nullified God’s plan for the family, and even God the Father’s role in the life of His creation.

Today it has gotten so bad that our society sees fathers as expendable and nothing more than sperm donors, fools, or worse, dead beats, which are the unfortunate stigmas that have attached themselves to fathers in general. What this has done is hurt the father’s ability to be God’s spiritual leaders of the home and, for that matter, of our society.

Basically, dad’s or fatherhood gets no respect.

Therefore, the role of father needs to be reinstated in our society and culture to the level of importance God intended. I think it might be safe to say that the reason America is in such a moral decline and one in which its integrity is so low, even to the point of absolute hypocrisy, is because of the declining value the role of a father, and for that matter a husband has within our culture.

Why? Because when husbands and dads are undervalued and unappreciated, so then is God the Father undervalued and unappreciated, which may be why we are seeing so many false religions and gods promoted in our society.

And so let’s take time and build this the right way.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” (Psalm 127:1 NKJV)

What then is the role of a husband and father?

Head of Household

In Paul’s letters to the Colossian and Ephesian churches, he introduces the hierarchy within the family.

“Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” (Colossians 3:18-20 NKJV)

Now, let’s get to what is on everyone’s mind when this verse is quoted. It’s this whole idea of wives submitting to their husbands. It doesn’t sit to well in our society, or even in today’s church, but please understand this is God’s way to blessing, not to harm or to degrade.

For husbands, what we need to understand when it comes to this verse is that there is a whole lot more submitting on our part, because we are told to love our wives unconditionally, which is what this word means in the Greek language. It doesn’t mean to lord it over our wives, or make them into servants. Remember God gave Eve to be a helpmeet, not a doormat.

In fact, in the letter to the Ephesian church, we see this understanding of unconditional love because we’re told to love our wives in the same way that Jesus unconditionally loved us by giving up His life for us.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25 NIV)

If we want our wives to respect us, we need to earn it by loving her as Christ loves His Church. Some guys may be thinking, “But my wife nags me constantly.” But truthfully, couldn’t Jesus say the same thing about us. But does He stop loving us? No! Jesus continues to listen to us and to love us. Let’s try to then listen to our wives instead of complaining, and when we do, then the respect grows.