“I just want to talk about a good father…
“Now, coming from me, if you were to personally look at my life, you would ask the question: “What do you know about a good father?” And that would be a fair question because one of the statements that I have written in my notes here today, is that men need examples. That’s not holy men, but all of us, are helped by examples. It does seem that as men, we feel better when other men show us that they are man enough to do whatever it is that we have hesitancy in doing, whether it’s cook, sew, babysit… whether it’s shout, clap our hands, cry… we sometimes can’t do it until we see other men that have lost themselves in the praise of God and in life.
“It would certainly be a fair question, on this Father’s Day to ask, “What do you know about a good father?” Now, when I say “Father,” I am speaking of one who is the guardian or biological male in your life: Takes you out with them, teaches you, gives you instruction to follow. Proverbs talks about “son or daughter, following the instructions of the father.” Well, certainly, there is no equivocation about that – that is wonderful – however, in order to follow one’s instructions, they must first know what they’re doing.
“We ask, sociologically, why are there so many messed up families? …What’s the problem? Well, in most of those cases, those children have no or little example to follow. There are exceptions, but in most of those cases, they had little or no example to follow. A good father is more than one who provides shelter, food and body coverings. Now, I pray that those fathers who are here, those mothers who had to be fathers too and every one of those fathers that had to be mothers also…”
…Heed these words and consider your child’s future in all aspects. Set a proper example for your children and see to it that they have a fair chance, mentally, physically and emotionally to make it through this rat race we call “life”. There are too many men out there, who feel that they can simply plant a seed and it will grow of it’s own volition. Now, this idea may be true to a point. The fact of the matter is, that all creatures will breathe and life will follow. But just as a bed of flowers will wither and die if it is not tended to – it must be watered, weeded, and cared for – so too will your child’s soul wilt in the harshness of a mid-summer’s day sun.
Life is not the same as living. One must cultivate the love that one is given in the garden of his soul in order to ensure that he – and it – will be able to withstand the plagues of this world. A man cannot go on as a child if he expects his child to grow into a man in turn.
So fathers, I say unto you, BE FATHERS. Teach your children; show them BY EXMAPLE how to find the well-springs of life-giving water in his or her environment. Let them know that you are man enough to be a man and in turn, they too will begin to truly understand what it means to be a ‘Real Man’. Stop cheating others; stop being adulterous; stop fighting, committing crimes, treating your fellow men with contempt and avoid avarice at all costs.
I had it good – I have a strong-willed mother who led me by the hand to the river of caring and thus was granted the gifts of patience, forbearance and a mental fortitude, that allowed me to learn from the sun, the stars and the moon. I am a flower that has bloomed and never shall I wilt. Do the same for your own child. Help them live.
Stop this cycle of viciousness.
