28 Jun The World Lies About Fathers
Genesis 25:5 – Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.
Have you ever heard someone say there’s no difference between Christian and non-Christian men as far as how happy they are, how involved in their children’s lives they are, or emotionally engaged they are with their wives?
I’m here to tell you this is absolutely a lie, and for those who don’t want to believe the Bible, let me appeal to you with research from the social sciences, which are not based in any religion.
One of my favorite sociologists, Bradford Wilcox, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia and Director of the National Marriage Project, has dedicated much of his career to the issues of family, marriage, fatherhood, and family stability. Every year, especially around Father’s Day, he’s called upon in the media to speak on the topic of fatherhood.
One of his most well-known books is called Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands and his most recent article, released about a week ago, is called “Life Without Father: Less College, Less Work, and More Prison for Young Men Growing Up Without Their Biological Father”.
Let me share with you just a few of his findings and, again, this is from, as far as I can tell, a non-Christian social scientist, not rooted in the Bible, but simply looking at data from the social sciences.
“Conservative Protestant married men with children are consistently more active and expressive with their children.”
“Men who are regular churchgoers are more likely to spend time in youth-related activities, they hug and praise their children more often…and they yell at their children less than other fathers…”
“…conservative Protestant married men with children are consistently the most active and expressive fathers and the most emotionally engaged husbands…”
If you’re interested in learning more, I would encourage you to read more of his work but the point is that men who love God, love their wives, love their children, and take their families to a Bible-believing church are much more likely to stay with their families, love their families, create fun for their families, make memories with their families, and raise boys and girls who become men and women that do the same. I pray that, whether or not this is the type of family you grew up with, that you would either continue the godly legacy of your dad or create a new godly legacy for your family, by the strength of the Holy Spirit.
Thank God for being your Heavenly Father and being a perfect example of what an earthly father should be.
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