Father's Day

550,000 - The estimated number of single-parent families headed by women in Canada in 2004. Every Sunday in America, more than 60 percent of the adults in our worship services are female. I've written on this issue a little here, but seeing how it's Father's Day, I thought it would be a good time to bring it back up. Our society is filled with adult men physically, but emotionally and spiritually, they are children. Our society has given men expectations of "get a job, keep a job, and watch a lot of sports". Have you watched how men are portrayed in commercials? sit-coms? dramas? We're a bunch of blathering idiots that everyone likes to laugh at. Are we portrayed this way because that is what we are? or is that what we've become due to lower expectations? I would argue the latter. There were examples of bumbling idiots on TV when I was growing up, but they were made fun of, not made to be the norm. The men were generally looked upon as responsible men, or good-guys in the least. Now? Put on your favourite jersey and grab a beer, ignore your wife and children, and watch a game or five. What, biblically, are we as men supposed to be? Great question, let's have a look.

1) Leader in the home and the church (Ephesians 5:25-33, 2 Tim. 3)

2) Provider of the home (1 Tim. 5:8)

3) Loving Father and Husband (Ephesians 5:25-33)

4) Teacher and discipler (Deut. 6:4-9)

5) Disciplinarian (Prov. 13:24; 29:17)

What roles are we currently abandoning as quickly as possible? With the move of liberalism in the church, women are now becoming ordained ministers, pushing men out from this biblical role. Leader in the home? Men haven't been leaders in the home since the 1980's. Provider? Most women today are working women that either contribute to the family income, or in some cases, have become the sole bread-winners while men are staying at home. Loving Father and Husband? With the divorce rate at well over 50%, plus single-parent homes (in most cases women are raising the children, although this number is getting smaller) men are woeful at both. Teacher/discipler? Isn't it the job of the schools and the church to teach and disciple the children? Disciplinarian? Go have a time-out for disturbing my video-game playing!

Our situation in the homes and the churches are not good. Men need desperately to return to our traditional roles of leading our homes and churches in a caring, loving and godly way. There are men out there that are doing what we have been called to do. God Bless you. There are men that simply don't know what they are to do, and need godly men to come along side them to help them figure it out (and an open bible to confirm this calling). We need women to want men to take the lead, and to offload the additional burdens that have been taken over or given to them back to the men that need to fulfill these vital roles. We need men to make their family a priority, their wives a priority, and God THE priority. We have a long road to travel, but with God's grace and a little education, our men can once again take a prominent role in building God's Kingdom once again through the church and family units that have been put in place by God.

Have a happy Father's Day.

Questions or comments? Feel free to leave one here, or privately at hillcountryreformed@gmail.com. Or you can call us at 403-932-0519.