The Focused Father

Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” ESV

As parents and as fathers in particular, we must strive to create a wholesome environment for our children by focusing on their physical, intellectual, and spiritual needs. In addition, as we encounter stressful situations in our lives and as we deal with our children in regards to their own behavior, fathers must be careful not to go overboard in how we respond to, handle, and discipline our children.

The following is a list of things that fathers should focus on in training children. It includes ten things that provoke our children to anger and ten things that fathers can do to nurture their children.

Ten Things that provoke our children to anger
1. Abandoning your children and removing yourself from their lives
2. Failure to provide for your children financially
3. Being abusive and overly aggressive in disciplinary measures
4. Not providing any discipline at all
5. Putting work, church, and various social functions before your children
6. Being overly negative and never offering encouragement
7. Being inconsistent in your method of punishment
8. Over promising and not be able to fulfill commitments
9. Failure to support them in their extra-curricula activities and goals
10. By favoring one child over the other

Ten Things that fathers can do to nurture their children
1. Be there for them when they are born and throughout their lives
2. Love their mothers (even if you are not married or no longer involved be respectful toward the woman who brought your child into the world)
3. Provide for them financially (I Timothy 5:8)
4. Train them in the Word of God (Proverbs 22:5)
5. Spank them in Love when they misbehave (Proverbs 13:24)
6. Support them in their extra-curricula endeavors
7. Be affectionate toward them
8. Leave an inheritance for them (Proverbs 13:22)
9. Give them good advice and offer positive encouragement
10. Put God first in your life and live for Christ

The Psalmist was right who said “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them.” (Psalms 127:4)

In conclusion, a father’s true legacy rests not simply in his personal achievement, or in the amount of property he has accumulated for himself. The true measure of a good father rests in his ability to focus on the character of his children and his overall desire and ability to take care of his family.