Disposable
Dads Stuart
L. Brogden 12 July, 2003
On a soft-drink cup from WhatABurger: “When I’m empty,
please dispose of me properly.” Empty
soft-drink cups have little value in this country and can be a considerably
nuisance if not disposed of properly.
This is good practice for litter, but what hit me when I saw
this is that this is the view society has of people.
Think about it – babies who are not yet born are talked
about as if they are not persons and nearly 4 million are killed in this
country each year. Unwanted babies are
in convenient and not useful to folk focused on “success that doesn’t matter”.
Old people who are no longer able to care for them selves
are “put away” so as to be forgotten.
In Denmark, doctors are encouraged to kill old folks to preserve
wealth. In this country, Jack
Kervorkian helps people kill themselves and Princeton professor Peter Singer
advocates killing babies and old people.
People are treated as if they are parts in a machine, rather
than image bearers of the Creator God.
When the air filter in your car quits working right, you throw it away
(dispose of properly) and drop in a new one.
When your paper cup is empty, a little soggy, you toss it.
How should a godly man behave in this disposable,
convenience oriented, selfish society?
Are we really called to be different?
Are we really different?
God’s Word describes His people as cups in several
places. But He does not inscribe the
WhatABurger label on you or me. Our
Father doesn’t throw away used up, empty “cups”. He refills, renews, renovates, and revives His kids! Psalm 23 tells us that in the shadow of
death, the Lord filled David’s cup to overflowing! When the world told David he was washed up and empty – useless to
the selfish tyrants that ruled, the Creator God pulled him out of the pit, set
his feet on a rock, walked him down the cool grass, cooked him dinner and
filled up his cup – to overflowing.
This is the model we earthly fathers have to follow. When your wife or kid is tired, worn out,
feeling empty and useless – don’t let them listen to the suicide siren call of
Sodom. Recognize that Satan and the
flesh are in league together to drag you and your family down into self despair
and hopelessness. A godly father
identifies the situation and takes action.
Just as the One whose image he bears, the godly father refills, renews,
renovates, and revives his loved ones.
Patrick Morley says a man is the spiritual thermostat for
his home, and his wife is the spiritual thermometer. We men influence – lead – our families in spiritual matters. Pagan sociologists have discovered that in
all areas of life, children follow the influence of the mother…except on
religious matters: then they follow DADDY.
A recent survey of converts in Christian churches confirms
the Truth about our role as leaders: If
a child in a family is the first one to come to Christ, there’s a 3% chance the
rest of the family will come to Christ.
If mom is the first one to come to Christ, there’s a 17% chance the rest
of the family will come to Christ. If
dad is the first one to come to Christ, there’s a 93% chance the
rest of the family will come to Christ.
This data doesn’t give us the reason to lead our families – God’s Word
does that. This data simply shows us He
knows what He’s doing!
To close, here’s a short peek into the bleak culture in
which dads are AWOL:
-
4 in 10 Children go to sleep without a father in
a home.
-
If that child is a teenager, 1 in 2 go to sleep
without a father in the home.
-
If a father is not in the home, 25 % of those
children see their dad once per week.
-
35% of these children never see their fathers at
all.
-
60% of all children born in the 90’s grow up in
single parent homes.
-
3,000 American children EVERY day see their
parents get divorced.
-
70% of America’s adolescent murderers and long
term prisoners come from fatherless homes.
"My Father's Face," by James Robison,
describes the consequences of AWOL fathers.
A chaplain of a federal penitentiary decided to improve morale. He contacted a major greeting card company,
and got 500 free Mother's Day cards, one for each prisoner. He asked inmates whether they wished to fill
out the cards, to be mailed at prison expense. They enthusiastically wrote
notes to their moms on the cards, and mailed them in. The chaplain decided to repeat this success on Father's Day. He again got 500 free cards, but not one
inmate wanted to send a card to his dad.
Not one. When daddy quits on his
god given role as the spiritual leader, society pays a heavy price. His family pays an even steeper price.
When you feel like quitting, when you don’t feel like
answering the call – when you feel all used up and “disposed of” - remember
that you are the point man for your family.
God has commissioned you to lead and He will equip you. Author Randy Alcorn reminds us in his book “Edge
of Eternity”, to “Trust the King – not your ability to follow Him.”
As with the armies of this world, in God’s army, no man is
expected to go into battle alone. We
are here to stand with you, weep with you, rejoice with you, rebuke you, pray
for you, and love you. This is the
brotherhood of believers and we are called to serve one another! Don’t put faith in yourself – you are a dead
man who lives in Christ. He is to be
the object of your faith. “Trust
the King – not your ability to follow Him.”