TV Dad, Andy Taylor
This week I felt compelled to write about Fathers, Daughters and the Crisis in the Western World. Yesterday I talked about our call to honor our fathers in, Giving Our Hearts to Our Fathers.
After reading So Much More, by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, my mind has been flooded with cultural observations and personal reflections. Today, in the midst of all that, I want to talk about why we need our fathers.
Cultural observation #1: Most TV shows, if they depict a modern family at all, depict a female dominated family with a bumbling fool for a father. Gone are the days of the steady, calm leadership of Andy Taylor on the Andy Griffith Show. How about the pioneer savvy of Charles Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie? We don’t even have the dedicated, respected leadership of Mike Brady (father of The Brady Bunch). The days of Cliff Huxtable’s subtle wisdom have passed. More recently we had Ray Romano of Everyone Loves Raymond. Ray’s leadership was undermined every step of the way by a wife who doubted him and question his ability.
That’s pretty much the standard view these days. We look endearingly at our dad’s as if their foolishness makes them sweet, but we can’t trust their leadership. We patronize them with a kiss on the cheek, all the while knowing that we will do it our way. We simply don’t respect their masculinity, their strength, or their wisdom.
What does God say about this?
But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God (1 Cor. 11:3).
EEK! How archaic right? The Bible is so outdated. Of course man isn’t the head of woman… right? We don’t have to allow our dad’s to dictate their standards to our families these days do we?
Well, if want God’s favor, it is crucial, that we turn our hearts back to our fathers (Mal. 4:6) and exalt them to their rightful place of leadership as God ordained in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 1 & 2)
As daughters, we need our dads because God has ordained their leadership over the family (Eph 5 &6). They aren’t to rule with an iron-clad dictatorship, but as ambassador’s for Christ.
In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered (1 Pet. 3:7).
Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly…Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged (Col. 3: 19,21).
Father’s are called to provide for us (1 Tim. 5:8). Father’s are called to protect us, even from ourselves.
If a young woman makes a vow to the Lord or a pledge under oath while she is still living at her father’s home, and her father hears of the vow or pledge and does not object to it, then all her vows and pledges will stand. But if her father refuses to let her fulfill the vow or pledge on the day he hears of it, then all her vows and pledges will become invalid. The Lord will forgive her because her father would not let her fulfill them (Num. 30:3-5).
From the time of Moses, God allowed father’s to intercede if their daughters made a rash vow. Oh, how valuable that would be today if we accepted that role of fathers. Let’s face it, as whimsical girls we make commitments to education, careers, and relationships that are nothing but big, fat mistakes. We need the rational, analytical decision making of our dads. We need the protection of our fathers.
Just as father’s are called to lead. Their children are called to follow.
Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth (Eph. 6:1-3).
Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord (Col. 3:20).
If you are an unmarried woman, I would like to challenge you to placing your father as the leading male role in your life. If you are a married woman, I would like to challenge us remember that marriage wasn’t our first chance to ditch our dads. Rather, marriage was an opportunity to continue honoring our fathers as we grow his legacy.
Tomorrow, we will discuss some of the difficulties that arise when we deem our dad’s as “less-than-perfect.” See you then.
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