But His Father Was a Greek
By Pastor Jim May
In the life of every child there are two people who, above all others in their lives, stand out as examples for them to follow. Nearly all of the lessons learned in the early years of childhood are learned from those two people. From Mom and Dad they learn about love, commitment, dedication, morality and discipline. We live in a world today where many of our kids are not learning the proper values for life and we don’t teach them the right values then they will develop their own set of values and most of the time, what they learn, they will learn from other kids.
Since the heart of a child is all about what they want and they aren’t concerned with society as a whole, or what is right or wrong, then we find that as time goes on, these kids grow up to be selfish, self-centered adults, who then have children of their own who learn these same moral values and it gets worse from there.
The Bible tells us in Matthew 24:12 that, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." As the moral fiber of our nation is changed with each passing generation, anarchy begins to surface. Anarchy gives kids power over parents, and in a nation where there is no love in the family anymore, we lose the ability to teach the proper moral values and we become a society that is heading for self-destruction.
Every day we hear of younger kids committing terrible crimes.
Just a few weeks ago St Paul, Minnesota police arrested a 14-year-old girl and charged her with murder because she killed her newborn daughter by tying a sock around the baby’s neck. Why is a 14-yr old child having a baby in the first place?
Juvenile Delinquincy has escalated to epic proportions, and it’s not just in the inner city anymore. No neighborhood is safe, no streets are safe, no playground is secure – and our kids are the main target of every deviate and pervert, of every bully and kidnapper and of every drug dealer in America.
Why have our kids become so rebellious? Quite often we hear people blaming our schools and the teachers. Others blame the church. Others say its peer pressure. And while all of these do play a part in the process, the main source of juvenile delinquincy starts right in the home – with Mom and Dad.
In New York City, the Juvenile Correction Department did a study to try to find out why there are so many teenage criminals in the city. What they discovered with astound you and amaze you.
They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and many months studying the problem and finally came to the conclusion that kids were bad because they didn’t have a good home life or good examples in their parents to train them right. Wow! What a surprise!
They discovered that bad parenting had a considerable impact in the kids. Well – DUH!
One study involved only white children who were sent to a psychiatric clinic for “anti-social behavior”. (That’s politically correct terminology for being bad.) What they found was that the father’s of these kids had a lot to do with what the kids had become. Now there’s another great surprise! 36% of these bad kid’s fathers were alcoholics; 21% either couldn’t or wouldn’t keep a job; 26% neglected the kids and wouldn’t even provide for their basic needs; 20% were cruel and abusive; and 48% of these kids parents were mentally disturbed or mentally handicapped.
The second study only involved children from black families. They found father’s who were convicted felons tended to have convicted children who had copycatted the crimes of dear old Dad. One young kid, by the name of Nathaniel Abrahams, had been with his Dad and watched his every move. He learned his lessons well and at the age of 11 Nathaniel killed, robbed and flashed guns to intimidate. At 12 years of age he was sentenced as an adult to a maximum security prison for life. Hey, great job DAD! You taught your son lessons that cost him a lifetime behind bars.
Here’s another surprise for you. These social study geniuses also discovered that
Discipline is another part of family relationships that affects delinquency. It just amazes me that they could have so much wisdom and understanding of how society works.
After much research they found three factors that related to increased likelihood of delinquency: 1) careless or inadequate supervision by the mother or surrogate mother, or significant other; or live-in step-mom; or girlfriend or whatever you want to call them.; 2) erratic or overly strict discipline; and 3) lack of cohesiveness of the family unit.
They also discovered that only 4.1% of the fathers of these juvenile delinquents used discipline practices; 26.7% were acceptable; but 69.3% didn’t have a clue about what disciplining their kids even meant.
After you read all this you can only come to one conclusion: Heathen parents raise heathen kids. We are all born heathens and we only get worse from there if someone doesn’t care enough to train our heathen ways out of us. Heathens can’t teach heathens how not to be heathens. We all need a Deliverer!
These studies can all be wrapped up in just a few scriptures from the Bible that were written thousands of years ago. The research was done before the foundation of the world and the first man was ever created. God gave us the answer to juvenile delinquency before the first child ever went “anti-social”.
Proverbs 22:15, "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."
Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
The Bible also gives us a shining example of what God can do to change the life of kids who are raised in a home where circumstances aren’t perfect.
In the Book of Acts chapter 16, verses 1-3, we read of the time that the Apostle Paul came across a young man who was raised in a home that wasn’t perfect.
Acts 16:1-3, "Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek."
Timothy’s mother was a Jew and a Believer, but his father was a Greek. Who were the Greeks? They were Gentiles, uncircumcised, idol worshippers and unbelievers. There is no doubt that Timothy’s father never went to the Temple, never observed the religion of the Jews and had not accepted Christ. He was still living as a Greek. He still believed in the Greek Gods of Zeus, Mars, Jupiter and many others. He had been brought up by Greek parents who knew and believed in every one of the idol gods of mythology and legend and I there is no doubt that he had taught Timothy all about them.
Thank God that Timothy had a Christian mother, or he would probably have been just like his dear old dad and he would more than likely have died without Christ.
But Timothy needed a father-figure. He needed a father in his life that could lead into the knowledge of the True God of Heaven. It wasn’t enough to just hear Mom talk about Jesus, Timothy needed to know that a man could still be a man and love the Lord too.
How is a godly father supposed to act? What kind of life should he live before his children that will encourage them to serve the Lord?
Paul give us that answer in 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12, "Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory."
Dad, if you want to raise kids that are “anti-social”, the only way you can it is God’s way. The ways of the worldly philosophers and child psychologists won’t work, unless they are instructing you according to God’s Word.
If we want kids to do what’s right, then we have to do what’s right. I know you’ve heard the statements, “What goes around comes around” and “Don’t do what I do, do what I say”, or “What you do speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you say.”
Kids are going to learn how to live by what you do. If the words you speak don’t match the life you lead, then they are going to learn to be hypocritical.
We have to teach (exhort) our kids the ways of the Lord, and the values that come from his Word. Those are the only values worth learning. We have to learn to express our care, love and concern for them so that they may know that you can be strong and still be a comfort to others. Finally we have to be good disciplinarians. If we want our kids to be good citizens and godly children then we have to train them to be that way. It won’t happen without our influence, or the influence of someone who is willing to fill that role.
I don’t want someone else’s values becoming what my children believe. I want them to learn about Jesus.
1 Timothy 1:1-2, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord."
Paul took on the role of the Christian Father for Timothy and began to train him in the ways of the Lord, teaching him to be a preacher, a pastor, an evangelist and a teacher for others.
Timothy could have been a heathen just like his father, but he chose to learn from his spiritual father. He learned life’s lessons from Paul, and he couldn’t have had a better teacher to learn from.
We never hear of his Greek father again. I doubt that his heathen dad ever converted because fathers can be some stubborn animals when we want to be.
On this Father’s Day, I want to honor those in our midst who are fathers. Maybe you are a father with children of your own, and you are doing you best to raise them to know and serve the Lord. Still there are some here who have taken on the role of a father much like Paul did. You have youth and kids that you are training them, like their dad should train them but isn’t, to know Jesus and his Word. I honor you also for your commitment as a spiritual father to those placed in your charge.
If you are a father who doesn’t know Jesus, then you can change all of that this morning. Why let someone else take your place in training your child in the ways of the Lord? Why not take that role yourself and train them your way?
If you don’t know Jesus then you are like Timothy’s father – you’re away from God and unable to really teach your kids the values of living for God. It’s impossible to teach what you don’t know and impossible to lead where you have never been.
Why not come to Christ today, take on the role of a Christian father? You will find a new life for yourself that’s far better, and you will embark on the greatest mission on earth – to teach your children how to make Heaven their home.
If you are raising your kids, or grand children, or kids in your care to know the Lord, then I know that today will be a Happy Father’s Day for you.
