A Father's Failure

A Father’s Failure

1st Samuel 18:33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

What we have in our text is a good man who is a bad father.

He knows how to be a King, but not how to be a daddy.

He can slay big Giants, but he can’t handle small children.

He knows his way around the palace, but he’s lost in the home.

He is mighty on the battlefield, but he’s helpless in the nursery.

He can wrap women around his finger, but he cannot reach the heart of a son.

Davis is a good man, who is a failure as a father.

He did his best, but it wasn’t good enough.

He didn’t abandon them, yet they suffered from neglect.

He didn’t disown his con, but yet his son did not know he was loved.

He gave the boy what he wanted, but not what he needed.

He indulged him, but didn’t help him.

He gave him a crown, but didn’t give him his love.

David was a failure as a father.

He wasn’t a scoundrel but he was a failure as a father.

He’s not a bad man, but neither is he a good father.

He’s a man after God’s own heart, but a pitiful father.

David has been in many fights and won many battle, but is a failure as a father

He is loved by his people and cherished by his God, but he’s a dud for a dad.

He loves the lord but still failed his children.

What we have in our text is the agony of a daddy and the pain of a father.

“Oh my son Absolom”

This is a bitter cry and an awful scene.

These are the word of a broken hearted daddy.

There are tears in this text that have not been dried by time.

These are the words of a broken heart and a troubled spirit.

This is the cry of a man who can find no comfort for his pain.

This is not the sorrow of a mother this is the agony of a father.

This is the cry of a father that has failed.

Not a King who has lost his crown, but a father that has lost his son.

Not a warrior who has lost a battle, but a daddy who’s lost his child.

Not an investor who’s crashed on Wall St. but a father that forgot to invest in his child.

David gained a Kingdom, but lost a son.

He found his place in history, but found no place in the heart of his child.

David was a successful failure.

He was born on the wrong side of the tracks, and grew up on the wrong side of town.

He was the least in a family of the least likely.

At his worst he was a great sinner and at his best he was a great saint.

He was a loyal friend and a lady’s man.

He had integrity when dealing with a king and weakness when dealing with his own lust.

David wasn’t all-good and David wasn’t all bad.

He did some noble things and committed some dirty deeds.

He slew a wicked Giant, but he also killed an innocent man.

He refused to kill a king that hated him, yet conspired to kill a friend that loved him.

David was a man of Valor and a singer of psalms and slayer of giants.

He moved from tending sheep, to sitting on a throne.

He became King, NOT by right of birth, but by right of ability.

He was a loyal king, an honorable soldier and an eloquent statesman

He took some scattered tribes and created a united nation.

He went from a shepherds tent to a King’s palace.

He went from down on the farm to sitting on the throne.

David Succeeded where he least expected and failed where it hurt the most.

He did what was never dreamed possible, and failed where success was most needed.

David has failed as a father.

No formal charges have been made, but the dead body of his rebellious son convicts him of the crime and condemn him as a failure.

What a shame to succeed in everything and yet fail as a father.

What and irony, to be a blessing to the world and be a stumbling block to your family.

What a contradiction to be loved as a friend yet despised as a father.

How awful to succeed in the world yet fail in the home.

What a shame to be admired by others yet be despised by your own.