Stand up....not, stand back

  I have a really hard time looking at the world around me, it seems as though people, especially fathers are not holding up their end of the bargain. Divorce is a common word nowadays, which was an abomination in biblical times. Single parents are the majority in today's society. This is not and was not the plan God gave and instructed. Here is Jesus' instructions for marriage: "But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his parents [and be joined to his wife], and the two shall become one flesh'. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." Mark 10 6-12   Men are the leaders of the household, and their responsibility is to teach (by example) family members what is expected of them in all areas. Take your family to church, do not send them to church. Pray WITH your family not just for them, show responsibility, take priorities seriously, such as paying bills on time, going to work whether you're "under the weather" or not, handle dilemmas ethically, do not give up easy, or take the easy way out , your offspring become what you are. Stand up for your family, not back, discipline with love, not anger, drive out the "enemy" don't embrace them. God has blessed you with these precious gifts, and has appointed you to support, protect, and believe it or not serve your family; we as men, have to stop giving up, or throwing in the towel; we must take action now, we have to make our families spiritually strong. Families that pray together stay together. Most importantly, earn respect, don't demand it! If you make a mistake, apologize, it doesn't make you any less of a man to say "I am sorry" if anything, it shows you care about others feelings and that you recognize your own faults. It also teaches humility, being humble is one of the hardest virtues to master.  EVERYTHING you do is being observed by your little ones, and however you respond in any circumstance teaches your children what is acceptable. Back up your wives, don't fight with them, if we respect our wives, kids will also, if we step all over them, children see it as acceptable.

  Yes, it is a tough role, and with what I see around me, not many qualify. It is really vital in this day and age to set an example commendable by God. Brace yourself, and your families with the word of God, read the bible, set the example. Our daughters will marry the man closest in our likenesses.
 Who do you want that to be?

 Son's copy your example...which will you set?