Some would rather not be compared to their fathers - having grown up in a home where no father was present or their father was a tyrant. Some boys vow never to become a father for fear they'll be like their own. Young women swear they'll never have children if they have to raise them in the same house with the man who fathered them, believing that all fathers are alike. Others may promise themselves that 'things will be different in my house - my children will be loved and valued....'Many fathers have treated their own children disgracefully and abused them horribly - or simply abandoned them. What a shameful legacy to pass on. Sadly, many of us grow up to repeat the mistakes of our parents.
This is not what our heavenly Father had in mind for us.
Satan plans to destroy the very beings God loves best, those created in His own image. He's infiltrated our everyday lives, distorting the truth. He seeks to divide and conquer; to discredit the structure of the family unit as God designed it and tear it apart. Satan wants us believing we are alone and vulnerable.
As humans, our fathers (and mothers) make mistakes, we make mistakes; we sin - we've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But if we search the Scriptures and discover the attributes of God in His goodness, we see that we're to live our lives reflecting His glory. This is the holy legacy we are to hand down to our children, bearing our heavenly Father's image.
It's not too late to teach our children the truth. We can be the parents our children want to grow up to be - we can humble ourselves and seek God's face. We have to, for God's sake....
I wonder why they don't think the same thing when it is the mother who abused them, which happens far more often. Or, when the mother denies the father access to the children, which happens in 40% of the cases involving separated parents.
ReplyDeleteYou know George, you're right! As I reread my post I realized I wrote it with a slant on abusive fathers - when I should have used the words 'abusive parents' not just fathers. I'll admit, subconciously I've been thinking a lot about a friend who's dealing with a lot of junk her father dumped into her life through his perverse selfishness. I apologize. Mothers can be just as abusive to their children, I admit. Mother's are blamed for a LOT in counselor's offices.
ReplyDeleteThe intent of my post was simply that this is not the way God designed family life to be. The dysfunction in families is growing worse as the centuries roll by - we're treating our children as if they have less and less value. I believe God created family for the nurturing of the children, and protection from abuse.
This generation can stand up and put an end to a lot of this, if we recognize what's going on and persue God's ways, instead of the depraved ways of sinful mankind; if we begin to recognize the lies we've believed....
Thanks for your comment George!