FATHER’S DAY
[6-20-2010]
Ephesians 6:1-3) [NIV] Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2) “Honor your father and mother”-which is the first commandment with a promise-
3) “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Why should children “honor” their father?
What makes a father honorable?
John V. Elmore:
By day, John V. Elmore is a successful criminal defense attorney battling injustices in the legal system. By night, he’s a devoted family man. The author of Fighting for Your Life: The African-American Survival Guide, which addresses the issues of Blacks (particularly Black youth) and the American judicial system, experienced a time when he was in need of assistance with his own children. Widowed in 1998, Elmore faced raising three children alone. “When my wife died, I suddenly found myself in a position of needing help. And with God’s blessings, I had family and friends who helped us,” he recalls. “I found out that it’s really hard work to raise a family alone.” Now remarried to third-grade teacher Redahila, Elmore is now the head of a blended family that includes Twilla, 23, Justin, 18, Kristen, 13, and Sonya, 24 (not in photo). A graduate of Mansfield University and Syracuse University College of Law, Elmore has been a defense attorney since 1989 and has law offices in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. His book, meant to deter Black youth from prison, has caused him to be in demand for speaking engagements and radio show appearances. “During the course of my career, African-American people, particularly young people, are ruining their lives because of bad choices, or because of being wrongly accused and not understanding the system,” points out Elmore, who mentors young people and is a recipient of the NAACP Medgar Evers Civil Rights Award. Even though his schedule is hectic, he still makes it a point to be involved in his children’s lives by helping them with their homework, taking family weekend trips and coaching their sports teams. The one thing he stresses is that fathers should allow their children to choose what interests them. Elmore, who ran track in college, found that out when he tried to push youngest daughter Kristen into sports. “Kristen was almost 10 when she told me, “Dad, I’m not into sports. Help me to explore my artistic side.'”
Proverbs 22:6) [GNB] Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their life.
Or, according to the tenor of his way, i. e., the path especially belonging to, especially fitted for, the individual’s character. The proverb enjoins the closest possible study of each child’s temperament and the adaptation of “his way of life” to that [Barnes].
The proverb can also be understood as encouraging parents to train their children along the lines of their natural talents, rather than forcing them into professions or trades for which they have no native inclination. Thus Kidner says that the verse teaches respect for the child’s individuality and vocation, though not for his self-will [BBC].
[AMP] Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Laura Trahan:
Laura Trahan made a list of what makes a good father:
- A good father plays with his kids.
- A good father helps with chores.
- A good father disciplines.
- A good father gets involved in his kids’ lives.
- A good father protects his kids.
- A good father talks with his kids.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7) [GW] Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6) Take to heart these words that I give you today.
7) Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up.
Ephesians 6:4) [NIV] Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
2 Timothy 3:16-17) [GNB] All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living,
17) so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.
In regards to fatherhood, what should we teach our children?
How do we keep from exasperating our children?
What material is there available to us to help us teach our children?
What other fathers should each of us honor?
John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, to name a few.