The Role of the Father
Some years back Bill Cosby wrote a book simply entitled FATHERHOOD. It is thoroughly humorous and you will also learn a few things along the way. Two observations that Cosby makes about Fathers. He writes:
Now that my father is a grandfather, he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was his kid and I asked him for fifty cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 4 A.M. when he was seven years old and walked twenty-three miles to milk ninety cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk eight miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents a month. The result was that I never got my 5O cents.
But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house: Well, lets see how much money old Granddad has got for his wonderful kids.” And the minute they take money out of his hands I call them over to me and I snatch it away from them. Because that is MY money.
The other story that Cosby tells the difference between Mother’s Day and Fathers Day. He insists that Mothers Day is a much bigger deal because Mothers are more organized. Mothers say to their children: Now here is a list of what I want. Go get the money from your father and you surprise me on Mothers Day. You do that for me.
For Father’s Day I give each of my five kids $20 so that they can go out and by me a present--a total of $100. They go to the store and buy two packages of underwear, each of which costs $5 and contains three shorts. They tear them open and each kid wraps up one pair, the sixth pair of underwear going to the Salvation Army. Therefore, on Father’s Day I am walking around with new underwear and my kid’s are walking around with $90 worth of my change in their pockets.
Well, of course, Father’s Day is technically not a religious holiday; it is a secular day. But, it is not, for that reason, less appropriate for our consideration. We also don’t simply want to give equal billing to fathers this morning because we gave homage to mothers a month ago. We want to recognize dads for another very important reason. The message that is going out to so much of society today is that fathers are simply not needed. While the number may numerically be small there are some women who actually chose to be single parent mothers. And there are far too many men in America today who father children that they have no intention of raising. The church, therefore, needs to send out the message loud and clear that fathers play a critical role in the life of the family, that they are needed, and that God expects something of them. Fathers, you will have a powerful impact upon your family if you connect in three crucial areas.
1. The Role of the Father Is to Connect with God.
2. The Role of the Father Is to Connect with His Family.
3. The Role of the Father Is to Connect with His Church.
The Role of the Father
Some years back Bill Cosby wrote a book simply entitled FATHERHOOD. It is thoroughly humorous and you will also learn a few things along the way. Two observations that Cosby makes about Fathers. He writes:
Now that my father is a grandfather, he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was his kid and I asked him for fifty cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 4 A.M. when he was seven years old and walked twenty-three miles to milk ninety cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk eight miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents a month. The result was that I never got my 5O cents.
But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house: Well, lets see how much money old Granddad has got for his wonderful kids.” And the minute they take money out of his hands I call them over to me and I snatch it away from them. Because that is MY money.
The other story that Cosby tells the difference between Mother’s Day and Fathers Day. He insists that Mothers Day is a much bigger deal because Mothers are more organized. Mothers say to their children: Now here is a list of what I want. Go get the money from your father and you surprise me on Mothers Day. You do that for me.
For Father’s Day I give each of my five kids $20 so that they can go out and by me a present--a total of $100. They go to the store and buy two packages of underwear, each of which costs $5 and contains three shorts. They tear them open and each kid wraps up one pair, the sixth pair of underwear going to the Salvation Army. Therefore, on Father’s Day I am walking around with new underwear and my kid’s are walking around with $90 worth of my change in their pockets.
Well, of course, Father’s Day is technically not a religious holiday; it is a secular day. But, it is not, for that reason, less appropriate for our consideration. We also don’t simply want to give equal billing to fathers this morning because we gave homage to mothers a month ago. We want to recognize dads for another very important reason. The message that is going out to so much of society today is that fathers are simply not needed. While the number may numerically be small there are some women who actually chose to be single parent mothers. And there are far too many men in America today who father children that they have no intention of raising. The church, therefore, needs to send out the message loud and clear that fathers play a critical role in the life of the family, that they are needed, and that God expects something of them. Fathers, you will have a powerful impact upon your family if you connect in three crucial areas.
1. The Role of the Father Is to Connect with God.
2. The Role of the Father Is to Connect with His Family.
3. The Role of the Father Is to Connect with His Church.