Fathers are Important

How important are fathers anyway?

Perhaps this question crossed your mind as you noticed “Father’s Day” on the calendar. Since 1987 there have been two dozen scholarly studies published, covering over 22,000 separate sets of data concerning the role of fathers. All the research has the same conclusion - active fathers in the family are essential in preventing behavioral problems with boys and psychological problems in girls. An active, nurturing father is crucial to the stability of the family. His presence in the home strengthens society and positively influences the next generation.

It seems to me that a reasonable result of such research would be public policies and media pieces strengthening the traditional family. Dr. Anna Sardaki, from Uppsala University Department of Women’s and Children’s Health (Sweden) has said, “We hope that this review will add to the body of evidence that shows that enlightened father-friendly policies can make a major contribution to society in the long run by producing well-adjusted children and reducing major problems like crime and antisocial behavior” (quoted from www.LifeSiteNews.com).

But where the media is on this research? Why is it that I keep reading and hearing about “non-traditional” families (read: homosexual partners)? Yes, the media loves reporting on the novel and faddish. Perhaps the traditional family is not news anymore, but with the stress placed on families today (economic, drugs, peer pressure), I would think this research would be news.

Reporting in the February issue of Acta Paediatrica, Swedish researchers showed that regular positive contact with a father reduces criminal behavior among children and enhances skills like learning, reasoning and language development. Need a translation of all this academic talk? What this means is that when a father is around, children learn right behavior, learn to obey laws and do better at school and in life. There is simply no skirting the findings: having both a father and mother in the home and active in the children’s upbringing results in positive benefits. The child is more intelligent, behaves better and performs better at tasks. Further, from what I have both observed and from what I read in the Bible, a child brought to church by both parents will have a better self-image and a much stronger spirituality.

In the United States, more than one million children are separated from a parent through divorce. This is an enormous tragedy. In 2006, over one and one-half million children were born to an unmarried woman in the United States. Some of these women will marry the father of the child. But many of these children will be raised in a one-parent home – most without a father. The United States leads the world in the percentage of mother-only families.

Want to do missionary work this summer? Don’t bother going overseas – go through your neighborhood visiting in the homes of single parents. Love the kids to Christ. Bring them to a church Vacation Bible School. Do a backyard club with Child Evangelism Fellowship. Direct them to a strong Bible teaching church. Better yet, if their parent will not take them to church, invite them to attend with you. The children of The United States are a mission field.

Call the Bible only an ancient book if you like, but it certainly possesses wisdom for our time. Marriage viewed as a sacred institution and intended “till death do us part” is not quaint. It is wise and practical. Marriage defined as between a man and a woman is not “homophobic”, but serves as a foundation for family. And family is a unit where a man is married to a woman. Along with their children they represent the definition of “family” - a group of related persons bound together by the marriage bond, birth, blood or adoption.

What makes a father important is not biological function for perpetuating the race. A father is important for the commitment he displays to marriage, for the security that results in the lives of the family members; for the instruction he provides the young and the love he gives. Best of all is when he serves his Maker, and models Christ.

Fathers are important.