How to be a Father

[Rescued One]

My brother chose to be childless. He said he didn't know how to be a father given the example that we had. Our father's father died in a VA hospital when our father was very young. Dad's mother tried multiple times but apparently couldn't find a satisfactory husband. Grandma and her many siblings were in a home for unfortunate(?) children. Their father died due to alcoholism. Their mother divorced and remarried. Eventually she and her second husband took the children in, a few at a time. My grandmother had only 2 children that I know of. My father was the only one by her first husband.

Who knows how to be a good father? Did Adam know?

 

[TheLastGeek]

Fortunately, we have some awesome help by looking at the Bible. Not only do we have our Heavenly Father to give us parenting tips, but many good men throughout Scripture who showed strength, tenderness, protection, duty, and compassion to their families.

Nobody is born knowing how to be a perfect - or many times, even a "good" - parent. I came from a very broken home and two dysfunctional parents. Rather than learning to emulate them, I learned what I did not want to be as a parent. I determined to do the polar opposite of some of their habits. And most of all, I let love and selflessness lead the way.

If we love our children, and we get ourselves - our egos, our wants, our whims - out of the way, I think just about anyone can become a decent parent.