January 29, 2019 -- Proverbs 22:6 -- Invest in kids
/Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 ESV
“According to Dr. Bronfenbrenner, this rat race is particularly incompatible with fatherly responsibilities, as illustrated by an investigation in the 1970’s which yielded startling results. A team of researchers wanted to learn how much middle-class fathers spend playing and interacting with their small children. First, they asked a group of fathers to estimate the time spent with their one-year-old youngsters each day, and received an average reply of fifteen to twenty minutes. To verify these claims, the investigators attached microphones to the shirts of small children for the purpose of recording actual parental verbalization. The results of this study are shocking. The average amount of time spent by these middle-class fathers with their small children was thirty-seven seconds per day! Their direct interaction was limited to 2.7 encounters daily, lasting ten to fifteen seconds each!”
Seven Promises of a Promise-Keeper. Colorado Springs, CO: Focus on the Family Publishing, page 116.
I wonder how things have changed since the 1970’s?
More women have entered the work-force.
More joblessness and economic uncertainty haunts today’s fathers.
More distractions are available—cable TV, video games, tablets, cell-phones, on-demand movies.
More children are in day-care.
More confusing data is being given by a government which directly opposes the Word of God in the areas of valuing life, marriage, family, and sexuality.
More than ever men need to be men in their homes. It is critical for a man to be present. It is godly for a man to love his wife, spend time with his children each and every day. The children need to see their father at meal times, at prayer times, rough-housing and listening.
If you are absent you train your children to be absent parents.
If you train up your children by TV and tablet, you are forfeiting your responsibilities and allowing the culture to shape the heart and minds of your most precious little ones.
The beauty of the word of the LORD is to promise healing in Christ. The hope of the Gospel is that there is time to have a great impact on your children for the King. Do not waste it.
LORD Jesus, thank You for faithful fathers and mothers. Thank You for grandmas and grandpas who are on their knees pleading for their family members to know You and walk with You. King Jesus, by Your Word and Spirit awaken Your people to our failings and areas of neglect so that we will be the people You have called us to be: coaching, teaching, training and delighting in the children You have given. Spirit of God, direct us as seniors, uncles and aunts, to know our role in helping shape the lives of vulnerable youth who are so desperate for male leadership and dependable adult interaction. Forgive us for the times we have valued retirement and selfish things above the call to community to which Your Spirit directs us. Thank You Father in heaven, that You love our children and grandchildren, You love the fatherless and the orphan. Amen.
