Source/Author: Dr Michael Dalseno

It has been said that the most endangered species on Earth is fathers. A father is not just a “provider” of material goods but a “nurturer.”

Wanted!  Fathers ...

By Dr  D

It has been said that the most endangered species on Earth is fathers. Not spotted owls, blue fin tuna, or the half-mammal/half-reptile platypus, but fathers! When Paul said, “you have not many fathers” (1Cor.4.15), one wonders if this spiritual reality has somehow subtly overflowed, or morphed, into the natural.

There are a lot of adjectives describing fathers these days, most of them negative: the demanding father; the emotionally-distant father; the absentee father; the passive father; the incendiary father; the demanding father; the condescending father; the dysfunctional father; the unpredictable father; and the list goes on.

Even some of the Bible narratives contain poor exhibits of fathers, whether they be Jacob who bestowed favouritism (Gn. 37.3), Saul who demonstrated jealousy (1Sam. 20.30), or Elimelech who led his family into paganism (Ruth 1.2). Not as common are fathers who sincerely love their children, who are patient and forgiving, and who put in the hard yards to nurture them and relate to them. Exceptions prevail, such as the timeless story of the father to the Prodigal (Lk. 15.11-32). This father knew how to balance the Provider/Nurturer scales.

A father is not just a “provider” of material goods but a “nurturer;” i.e., one who supports, develops, cultivates, spends time with, prays with, relates with, talks with, emotionally connects with, communicates with … his sons and daughters. Physical, emotional and spiritual disconnection plays havoc with the destiny of offspring, as was the case with David, who produced a self-absorbed Amnon (2Sam. Ch.13) and an emotionally delinquent Absalom (2Sam. Ch.14). Though these sons of a King had everything materially they were seriously deficient in fatherly nurture, the outcome of which resolutely rebounded on the king and his kingdom in years to come.

In the turbulent world of today, it is no time for Fathers to be on the Endangered Species list. Fathers … “connect” with your children! Listen to them. Communicate with them. Spend time with them. Pray for them.