Fathers in Christian preaching symbolize both earthly authority and spiritual guidance, reflecting God's fatherly care and discipline (Ephesians 6:4). Illustrations often contrast flawed human fathers with the perfect Father in heaven, using images of protection, leadership, and legacy to explore themes of honor, obedience, and the impact of paternal influence on faith and character (Psalm 68:5).
If I went shopping for a man to be my dad, here is what I'd buy: one who would always stop to answer a little boy's "why?" One who would always speak kindly to a little girl or boy, one who would give a bit of sunshine and joy.
I would pick a dad who followed the Bible's Golden Rule, and one who went regularly to church and Bible school. I would buy the very finest Dad to place in our family tree-and then I'd try to live like him, so he would be proud of me.
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will realize that to know Thee and know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenges. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fall.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.
Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain."
I watched him playing around my door, My neighbor's little boy of four.
I wondered why a child would choose To wear his dad's old worn-out shoes. I saw him try with all his might To make the laces snug and tight.
I smiled to see him walk, and then He'd only step right out again. I heard him say his voice so glad, "I want to be just like my Dad."
I hope his Dad his steps would choose Safe for his son to wear his shoes. And then a shout and cry of joy, A "Hello, Dad!" and a "Hi-yu, boy!" They walked along in measured stride Each face aglow with love and pride. "What have you done today, my lad?"
"I tried to wear your old shoes, Dad, They are big but when I am a man I'll wear your shoes. I know I can."
They stopped and stood there hand in hand He saw his son's tracks in the sand, His words-a prayer-came back to me, "Lord, let my steps lead him to Thee."
CBS television's award-winning comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond" features a fairly typical Hollywood portrayal of the contemporary man. The lead character, played by comedian Ray Romano, sneaks around in order to play golf with his friends, sometimes tricking his wife much like a child seeking to avoid discipline. When not passively begging for sex or privileges from his wife, the character is whining for food from his mother, who lives next door.
Hollywood executives, however, are admitting that this portrait of a man devoid of the respect of his wife and children is skewed and unfair. They are ready, they say, to restore masculinity, honor and empowerment to sitcom husbands and dads.
And they're going to do so by making them adulterers.
The New York Times reports that HBO's new program, "The Mind of a Married Man," features the next wave in sitcom fathers. Unlike Raymond, who "has to listen to his wife's complaints about his sexual technique," the new cadre of TV husbands will balance time with wife and children with "taking a flirtatious co-worker out for what could be more than an innocent lunch" (Craig Tomashoff, "A Few Brave Husbands Have Sex on Their Minds," Sept. 22, 2002).
The Times notes that the adultery angle will correct the passivity of male characters since "these new sex-driven husbands seem more like equal partners in their relationships, rather than buffoons who are just there for comic relief." As one actor complains, "The dumb husband is not a true character, and I think it sends the wrong message." The new line of faithless and straying husbands, however, "will be less hapless and more sexually focused."
The television producers tell The Times that the integration of adulterous activities in situation comedies will show that these husbands and dads "seem to live in a world closer to the one we real husbands know." The men will not be cringing before their wives, but will "maintain their independence and sexuality."
After all, one producer notes, "A married man at 40 isn't all that different from a guy who is 17."
Really?
The new twist on sitcom families tells us more about the world of the nation's media elites than it does about the state of "real" American families. It also demonstrates the bankruptcy of the culture's swing between overlapping dangers -- seeing men as parasitic obstructions to feminist utopia and seeing women as sexual products for predatory men.
The bickering and mistrustful world of "Everybody Loves Raymond" is, indeed, miserable. At the same time, those who have observed adulterous men growing older, sometimes seeming oblivious to the wreckage of families left behind them, know that nothing is more pathetic. And nothing is less masculine.
But there is another way.
Scripture reveals a pattern of leadership in which men lovingly sacrifice everything for the protection and guardianship of their wives and children, a trust that starts with the rejection of the deadly lure of infidelity (Proverbs 6:20-29). A wife who trusts and respects her husband doesn't then treat him like a child, perhaps first of all because both of them recognize the obvious difference between a husband and "a guy who is 17." The husband doesn't plan deceptive schemes for golfing weekends because he would more often rather play miniature golf with his wife and children. The husband doesn't find his "empowerment" in the cheap allure of an adulteress, but in loving his wife and seeing his children grow in grace and godliness.
That's what the Scriptures call the "real world" -- the way families were designed from the dawn of creation. Maybe it is time to turn off the sitcoms and pray for the producers.
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Russell D. Moore teaches Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and serves as executive director of the seminary's Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement.
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Today’s kids desperately need Dads who...
... play catch, enjoy tea parties or wrestle because the heart of a child is there and they set out to capture it.
... laugh till their belly hurts and tears fall from their eyes while secretly creating deep friendships and memories that last a lifetime.
... make mistakes but consider them to be wonderful opportunities to learn.
... place an out of tune preschool concert or a ten-year-old’s baseball game on life’s agenda because they are of infinite worth to those playing.
... love at all times, because love is a gift freely given and not a reward for service well done.
... listen eye to eye and with both ears even if it means getting on one knee.
... admit when they are wrong and work to make things right.
... hear about those in need and say, "Let’s do something to help right now!" and set off an uncontrollable wildfire of generosity and kindness.
... give the credit to others and empower those they touch to succeed in all that they do.
... model love as action, commitment, and truth even when it hurts because they believe God can work miracles in even the hardest heart.
... love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind and know that the rest is just details
”Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.” — Colossians 3:21 (NIV)
We father’s have a very important role to play in the lives of our children. God could have chosen any role he wanted, but as another has said, he chose to present himself to mankind as a loving Heavenly Father.
As God demonstrated his great love for us, fathers (with God’s help) need to model God’s love — first of all — in the home for his entire family.
The following is just one of many examples to demonstrate the importance of a father’s role.
Several years ago I read a report by Warren Mueller whose study revealed that where both parents attend church regularly, 72 percent of their children continue in the faith.
Where only the father attends, that percentage drops to 55 percent, but where only the mother attends, just 15 percent of the children remain involved in the church.
Most of us will be familiar with the old saying that said, “The family that prays together, stays together.” Perhaps it would be better this way, “The family that prays together, plays together, shares together, and goes to church together, stays together.”
Suggested prayer for parents: “Dear God, please help me as a parent to model for my children the kind of person you want me to be so that they, seeing your love in me, will want your love for themselves. Gratefully in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Suggested prayer for children: “Dear God, please help me to become the person you want me to be so that when and if I have children, they will see your love in and through me. And if I never have children, help me to know your love and share it with every person you bring into my life. Gratefully in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life." (Philippians 2:14-16 NLT)
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William Wilberforce is remembered as the parliamentarian most responsible for ending the British slave trade. But to the people of his own generation, he was the man who changed the way the British viewed their role as parents.
Wilberforce did not marry until he was nearly forty. But as Kevin Belmonte notes in HERO FOR HUMANITY, once Wilberforce became a husband and the father of six children, he took up his new responsibilities with relish.
It was not unusual, notes Belmonte, for him to excuse himself “from important deliberations with fellow MPs to go out on the lawn and have a race with the children.”
Belmonte says it was through Wilberforce's example that British households “increasingly...became places where parents spent more time with their children, educating them, praying with them, reading with them, and playing with them.” Wilberforce resigned his powerful seat in the House of Commons in order “to take a more active role in education and rearing his children.”
Sadly, these days too many Christians in business or politics neglect their families. Wilberforce is a reminder of what every Christian father should be in spite of great demands on his time. For the sake of his children — and for the sake of his witness — he must be “at home, a candle set on a candlestick, as well as abroad a city built upon a hill.”
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Adapted from HOW NOW SHALL WE LIVE? DEVOTIONAL by Charles Colson (Tyndale) pp 559-60
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #9569]
In 1910, Mrs. John Bruce Dodd, a resident of Spokane, Washington, convinced the city to issue the first Father's Day proclamation.
She suggested those with fathers living wear a red rose, those with fathers deceased, a white rose. Attending church together was a family priority. In 1922 President Calvin Coolidge asked that Father's Day be observed in the United States.
However, it didn't become a holiday until 1972. Worshiping together and presenting dad with a small gift has become a family ritual. Today, this special date is recognized by more than 20 countries around the world. On the third Sunday in June, [American Christians] pay tribute to our fathers through special services and music.
Growing up in a Christian home, my father, Earl Ross, taught by example more than using words. His work was manual labor, consisting of painting barns and houses. After a hard day's work he still had time to listen to my childish chatter. Like other families of that era, we sat on the porch after dinner on summer evenings, talking until bedtime. I might ask about the stars and constellations, night sounds from insects or nocturnal animals, or why moths hover around porch lights. And my father, in his wisdom, always had the answers.
I recall a special memory of walking with my father down the road to the community general store. A family with two large vicious dogs lived between our home and the store. I was terrified of their barking and snapping as we walked by. All I could see was those big teeth nipping at my ankles. My father always walked on the side next to the traffic until we reached this dwelling.
Then as we approached the dogs, he took my hand in his and put himself between me and the dogs. Nothing was ever said. But I knew from past experience that my father was between me and danger. He was my comforter, my protector. And how I loved him.
The story is told of a young child who asked her father for enough money to purchase candy. Reaching in his pocket, he brought out a handful of coins and held them in fingers scarred by hard labor. Then he said, “Take what you need.” He did not say, “Take what you want” but “what you need.” With those few words, the child realized the value of her dad's work.
As we honor our earthly fathers, it is a time also to praise our heavenly Father. When our heavenly Father opens His hands, He offers us more blessings than we can possibly imagine.
Philippians 4:10 says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (NIV).
Use this day to honor your earthly father and your heavenly Father. Thank God for sending His Son into the world.
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Carolyn Ross Tomlin lives in Jackson, Tenn. She is the author of “What I Wish It Hadn't Taken Me So Long to Learn”
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The following are different answers given by school-age children to the given question:
Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dads such a goofball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home, and dads just got to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you gotta ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2.To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What's the difference between moms and grandmas?
1. About 30 years.
2. You can always count on grandmothers for candy. Sometimes moms don't even have bread on them!
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
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Source: Quotes of the Day,
mailto:rheamo@centurytel.net?subject=Subscribe_Quotes_of_the_Day
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A man who is like a spiritual father to me began what he called a “family altar” with his wife before they were married and has faithfully continued the practice through the arrival of children and grandchildren for more than 50 years.
Sadly, it seems that few men among even the best evangelical churches today could speak of daily family worship in their home. In the minds of some, active church involvement eliminates the need for family worship. For others, Bible reading, prayer and singing praises to God together as a family have been crowded out by television, the Internet and a non-stop schedule that makes even meals together a rarity.
But the father (and in his absence, the mother) of the family has the responsibility from God to provide spiritual leadership for his household. As He did with Abraham, the Lord wants every father to “command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord” (Genesis 18:19). Each one should raise his children “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Every husband should love his wife as Christ loves His bride -- the church -- and follow Christ's example of washing his wife with “the washing of water by the word” of God (Ephesians 5:26).
While it isn't the only way, the simplest method of applying all these texts in a steady, practical way is through daily family worship. This is how generations of Christians have understood them.
For instance, both Baptists and Presbyterians in the 1600s saw this biblical teaching and incorporated identical language about the expectation of family worship into the most influential confessional statements in their respective histories. To this day, many churches still maintain (at least officially) that, “God is to be worshipped everywhere in spirit and truth; as in private families daily.”
Somehow, though, many men have gotten the idea that family worship is complicated, or that it requires time-consuming preparation. But it need not require any more preparation than your personal worship of God. And the entire experience can be reduced to three simple elements: read, pray, sing.
• Read. The centerpiece of family worship is the Bible. Read a passage of appropriate length for your family, making any impromptu comments that come to mind. Those with younger children should emphasize the narrative portions of Scripture, and possibly the Proverbs. Eventually, most seem to work up to about a chapter a day, reading consecutively through a particular book of the Bible. I recommend that you ask a few questions to determine comprehension, or just ask the children to repeat what they remember.
• Pray. Let the words of the passage you read suggest items for prayer. The husband/father should pray, and perhaps one or all the rest of the family members. Most days this will be brief.
• Sing. Use a hymnal and sing a cappella, or sing along to a recording, or let a family musician lead the way. Sing as little as one verse, or for as long as the family enjoys it.
Any order of “read, pray, sing” is fine. It doesn't have to be long to be effective. Be patient with the interest and attention span of the younger ones. Remember that you're not only fulfilling a responsibility to God by leading family worship, you're also introducing your children to Him. In these moments together, your children can see your love for God and for His Word, and some of the most teachable moments of their childhood will occur.
So start family worship in your home today. It doesn't matter when you have worship. For some, early morning is best. For others, it's mealtime, and for still others, it's bedtime.
Just start. Whether you've been married 50 years or are newly engaged, just start. Keep it simple and keep it up.
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Roller-skating was a big deal to a second grader. Our class went on weekly after-school excursions to the local roller skating rink. As any onlooker could tell, it was the keystone of the second grade social life. I was new to the city, new to my classmates, and new to the challenge of roller-skating. I had to learn. It would be for me a vital connecting point in a foreign land.
So at a local rink with my mother, I learned how to skate. The memory is still sharp, perhaps in part, because it is the first time I remember vividly having before me the goal of learning something, and the thrill of possessing that knowledge. It was one of those moments where a definitive sense of “getting it” hit me with excitement. I still remember the song that was playing over the loudspeakers when my legs and mind and feet suddenly came together in united collaboration.
The book of Proverbs sometimes sounds like a parent's anxious advice to a child about to step out onto life's rink for the first time. “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God” (2:3-5).
My mother knew before I even had my skates on that I would return from the rink that day with bruises and sore ankles. She was also hoping that I would come home with the ability to skate. Like a parent eager to see his children learn, God approaches us with exhortations for the journey in countless ways. To those He longs to equip, God speaks at times with forthright instruction and commandments, sometimes with gentle teaching or illustration, still other times with silence as we wrestle to learn.
Scripture reflects the reality that learning meets us in various ways throughout life. Author Derek Kidner begins his work on the wisdom literature of Scripture, “There comes a point in the Old Testament when the pilgrim is free to stop and take a long look round.”(1) The reflective approach of the Psalms, the parental counsel of Proverbs, and the questioning demeanor of Ecclesiastes all show us a different picture of a learner on the journey, pictures differing still from the fledgling learners in Exodus or the eager students of Christ. Kidner continues, “In other words, in the Wisdom books the tone of voice and even the speakers have changed. The blunt 'Thou shalt' or 'shalt not' of the Law, and the urgent 'Thus saith the Lord' of the Prophets, are joined now by the cooler comments of the teacher and the often anguished questions of the learner.”(2) The collective teachings of Scripture, from the writings of the prophets to the writings of Paul, point to God who longs that we might know Him.
The writer of Proverbs bids us to see wisdom as a lifelong journey to be taken seriously in every way it meets us. There are moments when we strive to learn because we long to “get it” and moments we strive more or less because it is asked of us. Yet, whether we are struggling to make our ears attentive in discipline, or crying out for insight with all that is in us, the source, we are told, is consistent: “The LORD gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (3:6). God reminds us that the pursuit of wisdom is a journey toward Him. Through his various approaches to teaching, even sending his son that we might be shown the way to the Father, He shows his great pursuit to make Himself known to you. Therefore, let us learn with zeal and anticipation, for He has promised, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
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1. Derek Kidner, The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes (Downers Grove: IVP, 1985), 11.
2. Ibid, 11.
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Copyright © 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #27090]
The passengers were there, the plane was there, but our plane wasn't taking off that day. It was time, but we were still sitting in the flight lounge, and there weren't many smiles in that flight lounge. Then we finally found out what we were waiting for. Our pilot wasn't there. His earlier flight was delayed and he hadn't landed yet. So, even though we all had to get somewhere, our pilot was flying something else when we needed him.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “No Pilot, No Progress.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the Old Testament account of the life of a spiritual leader named Eli, and in 1 Samuel 2:12, it says of this man with great responsibility, “Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord.” Later in verse 22 it says, “Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So he said to them, 'Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the Lord's people.'“ And yet, even though he rebuked them, he did nothing to stop them. Later on in verse 34, God comes along and says, “What happens to your two sons will be a sign to you. They will both die on the same day and I will raise up for myself a faithful priest.” It's a tragic story.
You've got a successful man whose family fell apart. That's been repeated a lot of times, hasn't it? It's easy to reach the whole world and lose your own. To impress the whole world, but not be a hero to your own family. Apparently, Eli had neglected these boys because they grew up not caring much about what he cared about.
A lot of families have a dad or a mom, but what the kids really need is for the pilot to be there. But he or she is flying somewhere else or something else. Your kids really need Dad. They really need Mom. Mom and Dad can get increasingly consumed, though, by demands outside the home. Dad gets lost in his business - the kids just get lost. Remember the old song, “Cats in the cradle and the silver spoon”? It's about a busy dad, “We'll get together then, son, I know we'll have a good time then.” And when his son grows up, his son has no time for him. Oh, dad's busy flying his career or maybe some other outside interest and the family is without a pilot.
Someone else can be president; someone else can be the foreman. There's only one dad, only one husband for that wife. It can happen to a mom, too. Especially if she believes the lie that has destroyed our men's health and our men's relationships over these years - that work is what gives you your worth. That winning and worldly achievement is what gives you worth. That's been killing men for years, and now it's killing too many women. Lots of women are chasing that same success phantom that their men have been deceived by.
That other plane that may be occupying you right now could even be Christian work. You're over-committed. Maybe it's a hobby, maybe it's recreation, but the pilot belongs first at the controls of his or her own plane - the family. Could it be that your mate, could it be that your son or daughter, maybe they're drifting because their pilot is flying something else? Give your family your best, not your leftovers. If you will pilot your family first, God will bless you with friendly skies.
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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
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Sermon in Romans series, #4 Romans 13:1-7
AUTHENTIC AUTHORITY
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I. The place of a Dad.
II. Authority's foundation: God
A. God has woven authority into the fabric of human life.
B. Authority is necessary because of sin.
III. Authority's method: servanthood
A. Authority is to be used to help others.
B. Fathers should be this kind of leader.
IV. Authority's responsibility: moral enforcement
A. Authority promotes and rewards what is good.
B. Authority restrains and punishes what is evil.
V. Authority's requirement: submission
A. Rebellion against authority is a sign of our society.
B. Submission means giving what is owed.
C. Paul's view of government is very positive.
VI. Authority's limits.
A. Paul is giving an ideal picture.
B. The Bible teaches that all human authority has limits.
C. God trumps all other authorities.
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It has been said a child is not likely to find a Father in God unless he finds something of God in his father.
A Bible school teacher asked her class to draw a picture of God for her. A little boy finished first and said, "I drew a picture of my daddy because I don't know what God looks like, but I know what my dad looks like." (What a great responsibility we fathers have).
It is so important for us to be the kind of parents that will make our children want to honor their father and mother (Ephesians 6:1-4).
The TV show 60 Minutes ran a segment that tells us something important about fatherlessness.
The park rangers at a South African wildlife preserve were concerned about the slaughter of 39 rare white rhinos in their park. It turned out that the rhinos were killed not by poachers but rather by juvenile delinquents-teen elephants.
The story began a decade ago when the park could no longer sustain the increasing population of elephants. They decided to kill many of the adult elephants whose young were old enough to survive without them. And so, the young elephants grew up fatherless.
As time went on, many of these young elephants roamed together in gangs and began to do things elephants normally don't do. They threw sticks and water at rhinos and acted like neighborhood bullies. Without dominant males, the young bulls became sexually active, producing excessive testosterone and exhibiting aggressive behavior. A few young males grew especially violent, knocking down rhinos and stepping or kneeling on them, crushing the life out of them. Mafuto the gang leader eventually had to be killed.
The park rangers theorized that these young teen-aged elephants were acting badly because they lacked role models. The solution was to bring in a large male to lead them and to counteract their bully behaviors. Soon the new male established dominance and put the young bulls in their places. The killing stopped. The young males were mentored -- and saved.
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Ken Sowers, Mentor, Ohio; 60 Minutes (1-20-99).
Father's Day sermon in 2 Timothy series. 2 Timothy 1:1-7
FAN THE FLAME
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I. To Timothy, my dear son.
A. Our feelings about our fathers.
B. How Timothy felt about Paul.
C. The things that can influence us.
II. Timothy's upbringing.
A. Our families have a big impact on us.
B. How did your parent's stack up?
C. Timothy inherited a faith, but it was not second-hand.
III. His friendship with Paul.
A. Paul and Timothy were obviously close.
B. It is a blessing to have a close spiritual friend.
IV. A gift from God.
A. This was a more directly-divine influence than family or friends.
B. Every Christian has the gifts they need to serve the Lord.
V. Timothy's own spiritual dedication.
A. Our inside factors can be more critical than the outside ones.
B. Paul tries to get him to build on his strengths.
C. His gift from God was not a guaranteed thing.
D. Stoke the embers!
I have always had respect for the great 19th century evangelist, Dwight L. Moody. He was the Billy Graham of the 1800s. He was also a very caring father. His son Willie reported that it was not unusual for his father to come to one of his children lying in bed late at night and say something like this: “Are you awake? I can’t go to sleep till I talk to you. I’m sorry I lost my temper.”
As a teenager Willie wrote this tribute to his famous father: “Other kids tell me they cannot go to their dads and just talk and hope to be understood; they say they can’t because their dads are ‘always right’ and they are ‘always wrong’. They can’t talk to their dads the way I can talk to you. I could always talk to you. You always understood. There was nothing I could not tell you.”
Dan Benson, in his book “The Total Man,” says that for every positive word that most dads say to their children, they say 10 negative ones. They’re really good at words like “Don’t” and “You can’t” and “Stop that,” and “No.” But they’re not very good at the positive words.
Benson suggests that we could change the whole personality of our relationship with our children if we just learned to be positive, and influence things in a positive way.
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