THE DISCIPLINING FATHERS

I am a Christian father with two children.  I have a son who is a teenager and a daughter who wants so much to be but is only a pre-teen. So before I get yelled at for not understanding what I am talking about, let me clear up that issue. Let me clear up another issue, my wife and I are not our kids BFFs. We are our children's parents. That is our position in their lives and we take the God given position and  responsibility very seriously. We are not perfect and have learned many things, sometimes by trial and error. But we have learned how to be a father and a mother, and not exactly from other parents but from our heavenly Father.

Paul wrote, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). Discipline has to do with boundaries and correction.  I give guidelines to my children and if they go beyond the boundaries that are set, then correction is warranted.  This correction is not done out of a lack of love for my children, but just the opposite.  I love my children and God has given me the responsibility to direct them in the way they should go.  As Father's Day is approaching we must remember that as fathers we are to be engaged in the home.  To be engaged means that we are the ones that administer the discipline.  We are to be the spiritual leaders.  We are to protect and even die for our families.

Far too often fathers have left the home without even moving out of the dwelling place.  What do I mean?  Well, some fathers do not take a stand and guide the family in the right direction.  The direction that leads his family to God.  Remember what the wise king Solomon wrote, "Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him" (Proverbs 13:24 ESV).  The rod of the shepherd in the Old Testament was used for two purposes when it came to his sheep.  First, this rod was used as a guiding tool.  If the sheep would stray from the fold or start to tread into a dangerous place, then the shepherd would give the sheep the needed amount of force with the rod to redirect it.  So, as a Christian father when my children go in the wrong direction or start to tread in dangerous waters, I redirect them with the tools at my disposal.  This does include spanking, grounding, timeouts, etc.  Of course father must never cross the line and physically abuse the child.  The punishment that is used is for guiding them back to a God-lead direction.

Second, the rod used by the shepherd was also a tool to protect.  If a wolf or other dangerous animal wanted to do the sheep harm, then the shepherd could use this rod to strike the intruder with enough force to protect his sheep.  The fathers in the home must also do whatever it takes to protect the spiritual and physical well-being of his children.  Use of the rod in this case can be the teachings of the Bible that give direction to the children.  The rod of protecting them from evil speech, immorality at school (such as the public dances), and the humanistic teachings that continue to be expressed in the public school systems.

Whatever goes on is the world around us fathers, just remember that we have the God given duty to protect our children with the discipline that God ordained.  Continue to minister the message of God...