If I Could Build A Father

INTRO.- ILL.- Some men in a pickup truck drove into a lumberyard. One of the men walked in the office and said, ’We need some four-by-twos. ’The clerk said, ’You mean two-by-fours, don’t you?’

The man said, ’I’ll go check,’ and went back to the truck. He returned in a minute and said, ’Yeah, I meant two-by-fours.’

’All right. How long do you need them?’

The customer paused for a minute and said, ’I’d better go check.’ After awhile, the customer returned to the office and said, ’A long time. We’re gonna build a house.’

WOULDN’T YOU HATE TO SEE THAT HOUSE THEY BUILT?

All people are builders in some form or another. And probably the greatest building we do is in regard to people. We’re all building people, because we all influence people and hopefully, for God and for good in life.

ILL.- One of my favorite Ozark Christian College professors was Wilbur Fields. Wilbur taught Old Testament History and Archaeology and the Bible. I was told by Brother Gerald Griffin who teaches at Ozark that Brother Wilbur Fields had a nervous breakdown a few years ago and had to be put in the Spring River Nursing Home in Joplin, MO. I was told that Brother Wilbur’s breakdown was so bad that he actually wondered if he had done any good in life.

Now it’s hard for me to imagine that he would ever think that way, knowing that he has preached and taught practically all of his life, but nevertheless, I guess that’s what his breakdown did to him.

However, I wanted him to think differently of himself in order to help him and bring him out of his depression. I went to see Brother Wilbur while I was in Joplin for the Preaching and Teaching Convention. I asked him if he remembered me and of course, he did. I quickly told him that he was one of the best professors that I had at Ozark and how highly I thought of him. And I could see tears come to his eyes. We visited a while and I asked him if I could pray for him.

Brothers and sisters, that brother is a builder of both men and women! He taught me so very much at Ozark and actually, more about living the Christian life than he did O. T. History. Wilbur has stayed in my home on several different occasions and displayed the greatest Christian temperament. I bless him and thank God for all the building he has done in life.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you realize that you, too, are a builder of people? It might be your children, your grandchildren but it might also be someone else’s children and others adults and young people. YOU ARE A BUILDER!

Of course, I think we all realize that God is the greatest builder of all….He builds people in ways we never could!

Heb. 3:4 “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.”

God is the builder of everything that is good and holy and right. And God is in the business building of good fathers as well.

PROP.- For Father’s Day I would like to share a few thoughts about building a father. If I could build a father...

I. IF I COULD I WOULD BUILD A PATIENT FATHER

ILL.- There is a story about a father who became disturbed about the length of time his six-year-old son was taking to get home from school.

The father decided he would make the trip to discover for himself how long it should take a small boy to cover the distance.

The father settled on 20 minutes but his son was still taking an hour. Finally the father decided to make the trip with his son.

After the trip, the father said, "The 20 minutes I thought reasonable was right, but I failed to consider such important things as a side trip to track down a trail of ants...or an educational stop to watch a man fix a flat...or the time it took to swing around a half dozen telephone poles...or how much time it took for a boy just to get acquainted with two stray dogs and a brown cat.

"In short," said the father, "I had forgotten what it is really like to be six years old."

Brothers and sisters, it takes great patience to be a good father.

ILL.- A new study (June 6th) came out recently in HealthDay News that your parenting style affects your child’s weight and whether she will be overweight by first grade.

"Children of authoritarian parents had five times the risk of being overweight compared to children of more diplomatic style parents.”

What are we talking about? I think they are saying that a child’s health is in danger when parents are overbearing and don’t demonstrate patience with their children.