There is no doubt of a father’s role in the wise spiritual upbringing of their children – teaching them the ways and Word of Sovereign God. ♦

In the Old Testament, the Hebrews were instructed specifically to observe the teachings of God, to “fix these words of mine into your mind and being,” and to pass them on to their children. The passing down of God’s ways is to be “as you sit…as you walk…as you lie down…as you get up.” It’s fairly clear that this was to be at all times. The children were to be thoroughly immersed in this teaching. Fathers, as the family spiritual head, were to be living and walking testimonies of the ways of the Lord.

Healthy Essentials for Sons
As sons are to be eventual heads of household domains, this applies today as much as it did in the past. If one is a father, there are 4 healthy essentials to pass down to sons:

1. Godly Worldview – modern fathers should instill a God-fearing worldview and initiate young men into the ways of the Lord and their ordained roles as men, husbands and fathers.
2. Masculine Model – young men need an instructional life guide and a way of behavior that is ideally modeled by their father as a living example and supported by the Word of God.
3. Purposeful Vision – in light of the Christian worldview, young men are to be taught something to live for beyond their own selfish wants and desires.
4. Valued Competence – young boys/men need to hear from their father that they are a source of fatherly pride, that they “have what it takes” in real and perceived value and worth as a young man coming into their own.

Lifelong Impact
Think of the impact on young men if all fathers were solid in their own life perspective to pass on these essentials to their young sons. My own father came to Christian knowledge and a saving faith late in life – six months before he died. He meant well and did the best with his own equipping,  but in my youth he did not come close to possessing this type of Biblical wisdom. His father never taught him. Teachers, coaches, pastors and mentors taught me some elements of this, but not to the impact and effect had it come directly from my father.

What is ideal – and what Scripture instructs – is that a father pass this down. This heightens the chance that it will take hold deep in the heart of teachable and yearning, learning young hearts. I myself learned it after too many years, by way of Biblical teaching and brotherly fellowship with other Christian men. My sons are getting it now; never too late as I well know.
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“Fix these words of mine to your hearts and minds…Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.” – Deuteronomy 11:18-19

Categories: Faith, Fathering, Manhood

Tags: biblical perspective, Leadership, vision, Worldview