A Father's Impact . . .

At a coffee shop in Canada, I picked up a copy of the Toronto Star, which was there for customers to read while drinking their coffee. It was full of reports on the G-20 and G-8 conferences being held in Ontario. An article on an inside page caught my eye. The lead line spoke of "different dads" and "father issues."

It said most of the world leaders are themselves fathers and a couple of them have fathered twenty or more children! But coming from all walks of life, the fathers of all these leaders have affected (for good or for ill,) the lives of these who are now shaping our world.

While the Canadian Prime Minister was very close to his dad, others grew up without their father’s influence. For instance, Barack Obama, Sr. herded goats in Kenya during his youth. Though educated in Harvard as an economist, he returned to Kenya after his divorce from President Obama’s mother. His son saw him only one more time before he died in an auto accident in 1982. In his book, "Dreams From My Father," Mr. Obama speaks of how hard it was to grow up without his father; a man deemed highly intelligent yet profoundly flawed. He said, "My father was missing. Nothing my mother or grandparents told me could obviate than single, unassailable fact."

The first French President in modern times whose parents are living, Nicholas Sarkozy’s father, Pel, a Hungarian immigrant, (who says he loves women and high living,) came to France penniless. He started his own advertising agency, then left Nicholas’ mother. In succeeding years he’s had three more wives, more children and numerous affairs. From age 4, Nicholas never saw his father again until after he became President.

The father of South Africa’s President, Jacob Zuma, was a policeman who died at the end of World War II, while Jacob was just a child. He soon had to go to work to help his mother and family eke out a living, which prevented him from receiving a formal education.

The fathers of today's world leaders have held many occupations; some were highly esteemed and some would be considered menial. One was a Lutheran pastor, another a bank employee. Others include a cattle ranch hand, a dairy farmer, a glass manufacturing plant executive, a stock broker, a professor, a bus driver, and an accountant.
[Source: "Who’s Their Daddy?" Pg. IN-3, Toronto Star; Sunday, June 20, 2010.]

So, although some had good relationships with their fathers, others came to the present through negatives and deficiency. Some consider they’ve achieved earthly recognition despite circumstances and backgrounds. Others see limitations, (thrust upon them by the lack of a father’s guidance and/or by the difficulties they endured,) affecting their ability to lead effectively. While overcoming obstacles is always a possibility, it is also a challenge. For many, it is the crayon that colors everything else in life.

Over the years, I’ve heard Bro. Grisham teach that the best example a father can set before his children is to love God, love his wife, and love his children. The fathers I’ve observed who have modeled this wise advice are without exception, honorable men worthy of godly emulation. Children raised in such a setting have advantages beyond monetary measure. The example godly fathers set provides insight and perspective capable of holding their children steady throughout life’s ebb and flow.

Moses commanded, "Teach your children diligently; when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deuteronomy 6:7 niv) Fathers who failed in this task handed their children over to idolatry and sure and certain judgment. Subsequent generations did not even know God. As judgment fell, the prophet spoke of the proverb, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge." (Ezekiel 18:2) But this was not God’s plan. He wanted reconciliation and restoration. "Behold, I will sent you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6)

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul balances the ledger, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4. See also Colossians 3:21.)

Fathers, you have an unction from the Holy One. Your children are your deposit into the future, your bid in making an impact on the world to come. The only contribution that will truly last is the one that affects and enhances eternity. Everything else is wood, hay and stubble.

~ mjkinnee
July 2010