In light of recent current events, I felt compelled to say something. In regard to leadership development, a wise person told me that you don’t reproduce leaders in what you say, but in who you are. A father is automatically in this position of leader in the household and is the chief person a son will look toward to understand what it means to be a man. And a father can say the right things all day long, but if he wants a good man out of his son, he himself needs to exemplify these traits. If a father is a liar, he will reproduce liars. If a father is a misogynist, he will reproduce misogynists. If a father is abusive, he will reproduce abusers. And if he is a father of daughters, he often sets the bar for what his daughters look for in spouses as well.
Now no father is perfect, and as sons and daughters, there will always be mistakes to learn from our parents. And I know that there are plenty of cases where being abused causes a son or daughter to live oppositely from their parents. But in most cases, if the child loves and respects the father or mother even a little bit, whether they should or not, they will wish to be like them and that will tend to be reproduced for the good and the bad.
As a father myself, this terrifies me, knowing that I am far from perfect. But by the grace of the heavenly Father, my sins do not define me (nor my father’s), and I am free to strive to be the best father/husband/man I can be. And I pray that if I pursue honesty, I (and Christ through me) will reproduce honest sons and daughters; that if I work hard, I will reproduce hard-working kids; that if I pursue patience and emotional balance, I will reproduce patient and balanced children; and that if I love my wife as Christ loved the church and treat other women with respect as those who, like me, are made in the image of God, I will reproduce a son that does the same and daughters that expect nothing less from a potential spouse.
This Father’s Day let’s celebrate being and having fathers, and most importantly a perfect and loving heavenly Father, but let’s not forget the sobering responsibility it is and that we will be held accountable before God for those kids that are celebrating us and that they will also represent us in the world when they grow up. Are you content and blessed by what you have reproduced in your children? By the grace of God, let’s pursue good and reproduce children that pursue Christ and the good of the world. #fathersday #stanford #OneperfectFather