Proverbs 4:1-4
“Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding; 2 For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law. 3 When I was my father’s son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, 4 He also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands, and live.”
I know that this is a prophecy website, and often, I try to work with that in mind and do things that are relevant to the end times. However, this weekend, our church is privileged to be baptizing 2 people and also dedicating a baby. As I was preparing for the dedication, the topic of fatherhood came to my mind, and I began to do some research about the power of fatherhood. I was able to watch a few videos and read through some papers, and wow, were my eyes opened!
The attack on fatherhood has been considerable over the past 50+ years. In just about every modern show, modern commercial, and modern movie, the dad is the buffoon, the loveable but ignorant man there by the sidelines while the moms, daughters, and grandmas solve the problems. The father is most often the bad guy, and more often than not, when a ‘thank you’ speech is given, the mom’s place is held in higher regard than that of the dad.
Make no mistake, this is an attack of the enemy; Satan knows that strong fathers are his biggest enemies to all manner of sin and evil. Strong fathers are the biggest obstacle to Satan getting a hold of our kids, and the data proves it over and over again. The attack on fathers and fatherhood is a spiritual one that comes from the depths of Hell itself. This attack has weakened our homes, our families, our churches, and our nations, and is killing Christianity from the inside out. God is not a feminist. This will rile some, but if you read through and see for yourself, you will understand the power of good fathers.
Here is a truth that you rarely hear: a home where there is a single father is just as successful at raising kids as a home where Mom and Dad are married. And it is way more successful than a home with a single mom. Now, let us be clear; there are single moms because of abuse or rape; there are single moms because she is a widow, and the like. But since about 70% of all divorces in North America are instigated by women, a lot of single-mom homes are deliberate. Here is what we know for sure: there are no gray areas here. I need the men to listen and pass this on to your young men. If we ever want to see revival in our churches and so much more as we see the Lord’s Day approaching, we need to pay attention.
From the ‘How Father Benefit Families’ in the Box Elder Family Support Center: When Dad is present, there is an 80% less chance that children will be in prison, 71% less chance of High School dropouts, 60% less chance of youth suicide, and a 90% less chance of their being runaways. From the Knowledge of Freedom website, in a single-father home, kids are 5 times less likely to commit suicide, 9 times less likely to drop out of school, 10 times less likely to be involved with drugs, 14 times less likely for the boys to commit rape, 20 times less likely to go to jail, and 32 times less likely to run away.
These are about the same rate for a home where Mom and Dad are present. Fatherhood is essential to the well-being of a child, even more so than mothers. And this is not to diminish the power and the place of moms, but the data clearly shows that fathers make the difference. Ironically, Father’s Day is one of the least celebrated holidays of the year. Christmas and Mother’s Day are the top two. Father’s Day is not even in the top 10.
Fathers are very, very important, and Satan has made it so that they have become the side joke of the family. Imagine how our entire world would be different if fathers were given the pre-eminence they deserved in TV shows, commercials, and the like. Could you imagine if our prisons had 60% fewer people in them and our children stopped killing themselves and stopped doing drugs? Yes, we can if fathers were there in the home.
Let me give you a bit more: girls who have their fathers with them and have interacted with them have better self-esteem and a low Body Mass Index (BMI); they are less likely to be obese, and with better self-esteem, they are less likely to engage in sexual relations in their teens and put themselves at risk for abuse by boys around them. We know all this, and yet, the attack on fathers goes on unabated, and we watch our kids suffer and literally die. Why? Why is this so important?
Satan knows the importance of having the dad as the spiritual leader of the family. In a paper called Theology for the People by Nick Cady, we find this astonishing conclusion from researching spiritual leadership in homes:
Another survey found that if a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there is a 3.5% probability everyone else in the household will follow. If the mother is the first to become a Christian, there is a 17% probability everyone else in the household will follow. However, when the father is first, there is a 93% probability everyone else in the household will follow.
Satan knows that the way to pad Hell is by taking dads out of the way. He and his cohorts here on Earth have done a good job. By the way, take an honest look and see that the people who are the biggest promoters of the single-mom home are ALL married. Notice that the people who make a lot of these policies are married, their kids get married, and are raised in dual-parent homes. Now, not all men are good men, and not all fathers are good fathers. But what we do know for sure is that men who marry young, have kids, and stay married provide safe, strong households for their families. Married men with kids are the highest wage earners by far, and the importance of providing for another is what helps most men to grow up and stop being boys.
Our homes need good, strong fathers, our churches need good, strong fathers, and our nation needs good, strong fathers. Without them, we are all dying a slow, painful death. What is even sadder is that we know the solution, and we are doing nothing to solve the problem. Nothing teaches you about God’s love as a Heavenly Father like being a father yourself. Nothing teaches you about God’s unconditional love like being a father, and nothing helps you to understand God’s interactions with us like being a father. It is time for us to stop Satan from winning, stop him from killing fatherhood. Fathers, be wise men, godly men, serving men, kind men, loving men, patient men, and the kind of men that teach their children about God – and rescue a dying generation.
Never let anyone diminish the power of fatherhood. Why? We interact primarily with God as a Father. It is how we are to address Him, Our Father. Romans 8: 14-16, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
God bless you,
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
How to Connect with Us
Online: https://mmbchurch.ca/
Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca
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