When Fathers Fail Nations Fall

I heard that a man once had this conversation with God: "God, why did you make woman so beautiful?"

God said: "So you would love her, marry her and be a father."

"OK God, but why did you make her so illogical?"

God said: "So she would love you, marry you and have your children."

I suggested that my family get me something for Father’s Day that we could all get something out of – so they did – they got me a wallet J

Three out of four adults concur that the family unit is weaker today than it was just 30 years ago.

• One out of two marriages has ended in divorce.

• Cohabitation (living together without being married) has risen by more than 500% in the past 20 years (even though people who cohabitate prior to marriage have an 82% greater chance of divorce than do couples who marry without having first lived together.)

• One out of three children born this year will be born to an unwed mother.

Across the board American fathers have failed. They have failed their children by being absent from the lives of their children. The Bible shows us that when fathers fail nations fail. America is in danger of failing - not because of financial colapse (although that will eventually occur) – not because of an external enemy threat – not because of famine, pestelense or disaster. No, America is in danger of failing because of moral failure.

We are experiencing moral failure in this country because fathers are either physically or spiritually absent in the lives of their children. It’s a generational problem – a downward spiral that will ultimately end in a firery crash.

Mothers have a great deal of spiritual influence in the lives of their children, but fathers……… fathers hold the keys of spiritual blessing or cursing.

Fathers, invest yourselves in your kids and release the blessings of being raised by a godly father into the lives of your children! Be there for your kids. Teach your kids how to love God. How do you do that? You model it. Do your kids see you read the Bible? Do they see and hear you pray? Do they see you come and worship the Lord on the Lord’s day? Do they see that you make serving God the number one priority in your life?

Today men are consumed by concumerism. They desire to buy things they don’t need, with money they don’t have, to impress people they don’t even like.

What is the result of massive consumerism? Massive debt.

The number one most pressing issue confronting American families today is their financial condition. 1 out of 3 Americans state that they are struggling with a serious financial problem.

Financial stress creates friction in marriages and is a major contributing factor to the break-up of families. But financial stress is not the problem, it’s just the symptom of a lagrer problem.

Dads, one of two things happen – 1. You have to get another job just to make ends meet and you don’t see your kids enough or 2. You end up getting a divorce, you still have two jobs and you still don’t see your kids enough. Either way the cumulitave result is a “fatherless family.”

Dads, untaimed consumerism will destroy your family.

Responsible dads must learn to say “no” to their consumer appetite.

1 John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

Our recent Bible reading has highlighted the results of fatherless families.

Both King David and King Solomon are a case study of what happens in a fatherless family.

David had numerous wives and concubines. As a result, he had many children. David had so many things distracting him, wars, commerce, building projects, treaty negotiations, entertaining, judging, that at the end of the day he had little time to spend with his kids. David was an absentee father. What was the result of his absenteeism?

His son Amnon raped his sister and Absolom had him assisinated.

A few years later Absolom tried to usurp the thrown of his father David, slept publicaly with David’s concubines and almost succedded in usurping the throne. Joab, David’s leading general killed Absolom.

While on his death bed David’s son Adonijah tried to usurp Davids thrown and David had to quickly have his son Solomon anointed as king to prevent it.