To explain what I feel a good father should be, I must first point out some negative things and hope that they will not only alarm you who are reading this text but also give you a better idea of what we are up against. To that end it is that I will unveil the negative trends and portrayals of fathers we’ve seen through the years.

Parenting Style
One could argue that the alarmists have focused blame on what’s wrong with our youth and pointed to the parental figures in the home as the culprits, in many cases. Yes, this has been done many times in various parts of the world and during a great many different time periods.

Ask anyone on the street today what a good father is, and unless you’re only polling a group of people who have a similar world view on the need for strong parent figures, you may be shocked by some of the responses. You might hear that the father typically gets the sympathy of the rest of the family members and especially the attention of his spouse. He may do this with some type of childish action or even some form of hypochondriac procedure. Of course, the all-powerful television has hammered this image home in it’s portrayal of the idiot, pathetic, subservient father and husband.

Of course, everything cannot be blamed on television. The liberalization of our society has perverted the idea of leadership and strength, lampooning it to the point that we’ve been softened as a society, as most people avoid the lead role. Rarely is a genuine person of character with positive leadership skills elected to be our public officials. We can say the same fore the father image, as well. Perhaps a strong-willed, God-fearing head of the household projected in either real life or fiction would be damaging to the youth, with his domineering personality, causing children to be subservient and silenced in their true voice and expressions.

I can’t refute this claim boldly enough! Leadership can only be passed along through example. Unfortunately, there seems to be no one to perpetuate this image as we have lost almost all of our examples as fatherly leadership is concerned. The young man grows up with a weak father and does not have anyone with whom to identify, so he does not know what a real man is. He sees the dad allowing the good mother of the home to carry on his responsibilities, while he grossly neglects the family in many different ways.

Family Ministry
So you’re probably wondering when I’m going to get around to tell you what I thing a good father is. By describing a bad father, I am surely telling you what a good father should be. He should certainly be just the opposite of a weak, poor father. I would much rather see a strong-character, righteous man walk by his children, and in doing so, observe them somewhat flinching as they became fearful that he might just swat them, then see the reaction of most children to their father today. Call me old fashioned, but that fearful respect for the father is representative of being accountable for the child’s actions, recognizing that the good father represents values.

Protecting your child in a seductive world
The good father is involved in the lives of their children, doing the things we typically image father doing with child. Things such as playing catch with his son, taking him fishing, having that special bond with his daughter, and being strong yet sympathetic figure. It’s his job to do all of these things, but first and foremost he must be the leader of his family. He takes helm of leading the household; providing guidance and direction through the storms the family faces as the years go by.