God Centered Dad

   Children are sponges of information. They absorb everything around them, at all times, in all forms, from all sources. They will particularly learn from those with whom they spend the most time. In an ideal situation, that would hopefully be Mom and Dad. I understand that there are circumstances where this may not be possible, but then I hope that an effort will be made to ensure that those who are spending the majority of the day with your children are setting a good example for your children. Family members or trusted friends would probably be the best choices for child care, given that they act as responsible adults should, but that is not always the case either. We all mess up in our actions and our words, but this should be the exception rather than the norm. And when we do mess up, we should seek to make things right. It is through our actions and our reactions that children learn how to act and react to others. This even goes so far as a parent apologizing to and ask...

  In my last article, I strove to lay out the roles and responsibilities of a Christian man in a marriage relationship. I hope that I was able to make it very clear that while God has given man the authority position in a Christian household, this position comes with a heavy burden of responsibility to his wife, his kids and his household in general, as well as a responsibility to society as a whole. The man is to love and respect his wife and kids in his leadership and is to set an example as to how a Christian is to act. The authority given to the man is not permission to lord his authority over his family or demean or abuse those under him, it is quite the opposite. The man is told to model his love and leadership on what we read of Jesus' love and leadership, and if he does so, he is more likely to have a peaceful and enjoyable household. Now I want to deal with the role of women in a Christian household. There can only be one leader, and according to the Bible, that is not the...

  In my previous article, I presented ways in which believers are to act towards each other in general and I pointed out that these apply to a marriage relationship as well, especially as Christian men and women should be seeking Christians with whom to build a marriage and a family. I also wrote about some foundational teachings about marriage specifically that apply to both sexes. In the next couple of articles I want to delve into the roles and responsibilities of men and women specifically, and I want to start with the men. The reason I feel like I need to start with the men is largely due to the fact that, Biblically, men have the overarching authority in the marriage relationship, so I will start with the responsibilities of the head first. This is important because if there is not a basis of understanding of the role of the man, then it is much easier for there to be a misunderstanding regarding the role of the woman. It is important, maybe even vital, for both sexes to fulf...

    Historically, the majority of men and women in the world have been marrying and building families, regardless of their faith background. It was God who instituted the relationship between a man and woman in the garden of Eden, but virtually all cultures have practised some form of relational bond between men and women, and that bond typically results in the creation of children and a household. But since God is the one who instituted marriage, I think it is best to look to Him for guidance about what that relationship and the resulting household should look like. If we start by looking in Genesis two at the introduction of Adam to Eve, man to woman, we see that while God created man out of the dust of the earth and breathed life into Him, thereby imbuing man with spirit (I plan to write about that at another time), He did not do the same when He created Eve. Instead, He put Adam to sleep and removed one of Adam's ribs, around which He fashioned Eve. This caused Adam to pro...