Gene Hill
In reading various articles on the family, one item that stands out is the positive influence a strong male figure has. This is not to downplay the very obvious impact of a woman in a household, so much as it is to hold up that which has been suppressed by the Politically Correct crowd. Without an intact family, that is, having both a male and a female in the home, who are married to each other, a variety of things occur. Incomplete families, or one in which the adult male and female are not married to each other, are more likely to experience a higher incidence of poverty, violence, inferior education of the children, higher substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, and earlier occurrences of such for the children. While there are many reasons cited, the one reason cited most consistently as being a root cause, is that the adult male figure is not the biological father and/or is not married to the adult female. There is something unique about a strong manly influence in the home that seeps out into society at large. We are not impugning the woman’s influence at all, merely focusing on the man’s.
There are some very basic things that I as a man am able to do that only I as husband and father can do. I demonstrate love and respect for God (Mark 12:29-30), for my wife and the mother of my children (Eph. 5:21-31), for my children (Eph. 6:4; 1 Tim 3:4), for my neighbor (Mark 12:31; Rom. 13:9), and for my country (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Tim. 2:1-2). As a Christian man, I demonstrate strength (1 Cor. 16:13), humility (Isa. 6:5), submission (Jam. 4:7; John 4:23-24), service (Mat. 25:31-39), and a willingness to prepare for and to assume leadership (1 Tim. 3:1-8), and demonstrating how it is done as an adult male.
My family learns by my words and through my actions, what male Christian character is all about. They learn purity of speech (Psa. 37:30; Pro. 16:21-24; Eph. 4:29), soberness (Tit. 2:11-12; 1 Pet. 5:8), chasteness (Rom. 13:13; Col. 3:5; 1 The. 4:3), true spirituality (Luke 10:42; Psa. 51:6; Rom. 8:4), and the value of work (Pro. 10:4-5; 13:11; 22:29; 27:23-27; 1 Tim. 5:8) from an adult male perspective. Little boys learn how to be real men, and little girls learn how to identify a true man when they see one in their Christian father.
A true Christian man loves his God, his family, and his country, and is not shy about demonstrating it. The church needs real men to step forward and assume their proper place. Our country needs faithful Christian men to turn back the tide of darkness that threatens to engulf our land and carry us away. Our wives and families need such men to provide for and protect them. Of all the titles worn and awards worn by man, truly “Christian Father” is the greatest and most rewarding.
