I am fairly young, only 25 years old. And I know, you may be asking yourself, “What does a punk like that have to tell me about being a husband and dad?” Maybe not a whole lot. I don’t have a lot of wisdom, but I do have some. I fear God. I hate wickedness, especially what’s in my own heart (Proverbs 8:13). I love God’s word. And I have a desperate desire for my family to truly love, obey and bring glory to God.
The men from my generation are ridiculous. We are not like our grandfathers or even our fathers. We like to call ourselves men, but still act like boys. Most of us don’t really know what it means to work hard. We think we do, but we don’t. Men who grew up in the depression, like my grandpa, were considered men if they could provide so that their family would have enough food to survive. But “men” from my generation get obsessed with TV, video games and sports. Instead of losing sleep because we are burdened to see our wife and children grow in grace and become more holy, we lose sleep when our favorite sports team loses a big game. What kind of madness has come upon the men of the Church?
Paul Washer has rightly said that if a man-eating lion got loose in a high school or college campus, it would starve to death. And I would say the same is true about most homes in america. There are things godly men should care deeply about and none of them are TV, video games, sports or even work. A job is a tool that God has blessed you with so that you can provide the necessary physical things for your family. And when you leave your job, you go home and then your work begins. Husband, Father, listen to me. You have precious few hours in the day to be with your family and it is in those few hours that we must be doing what we were created for. Those hours make up days and then years. And one day not too long from now we will stand before God to give an account. What are your priorities? What do you think about most throughout the day?
I’m not talking like this with my finger pointed at everyone else. Don’t get me wrong, I am pointing at other men, but I am also looking in the mirror while I do it. I am a man with a wicked and deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9) and it betrays me and my God. And except for the mercy of God the Father, through the Son’s death and resurrection and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, my eternal home would be in hell. So I want to make that clear to begin with because it can be very easy to portray myself to be someone other than I am. The things I will be talking about, I have by no means accomplished. A lot of it is very new to me and I struggle with them every single day. Every hour. How much of my adult life have I wasted on childish vanity? I’d rather not think of it. My righteousness comes only and completely from Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory. He is the reason I am doing this. It is my heart’s desire for men to turn their hearts toward their families and their families turn their hearts to him. Men must be men. We must disciple our families. If we do, we will lead this nation to repentance for the glory of Christ.
Tip: Pray about what changes you should start to make to be the leader you are called to be for your family. Monday's post will be, "What Does It Mean To Disciple My Family?"
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