"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4
There is an "American philosopher" with whom I am very rarely compared. His name is Snoop Dogg. I think you could accurately say we are at opposite ends of the cultural continuum. He is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, television personality and actor, and his philosophies and music are indeed a world away from mine.
But, some time ago I learned that Snoop Dogg was (at that time) a father of three -- two sons and a daughter. And, I learned something about him which was very impressive. It was contained in a statement he made. He said, "Becoming a father made me settle down, go out a lot less and stay out of trouble."
He added, "My children need a full-time father, and no matter what else I may decide to do or not do, that's one job I'll never take for granted. It is the number one priority in my life."
By his own admission, Snoop Dog has been no "choirboy." If you know anything about him at all, you are aware of that. But, I was touched by his statement about the importance of fatherhood. He understood what his children needed from him. His children needed him to be a good dad. They needed him to be an active, involved father.
Interestingly, there is another American rapper and actor named Tupac Shakur, who also had some interesting thoughts about fatherhood. Tupac was an extremely popular, award-winning rap artist back in the 1980s and 90s. He was brought up in a New York City ghetto, and his music personified his violent lifestyle. He was incarcerated for eight months because of rape. He survived a mugging during which he was shot five times. Then in September of 1996, Tupac was gunned down in a drive-by shooting. Six days later he died.
These are his own words as he describes the personal impact of growing up with an absent father, and a step dad who was at best dysfunctional, and at worst criminal.
He said, "My real father was a Black Panther. But, when I was growing up, I never really knew for sure who my real father was. My step dad was a gangster, a straight-up street hustler. My mother had a kid (referring to himself) but this man didn't even care. He took care of me in the sense that he gave me money, but he was a criminal. He was out there doing his own thing. He came, he brought me money and he left. I know for a fact if I had a father, I'd have some discipline. I'd have more confidence."
Now, listen to this next statement: "Your mother can't calm you down the way a man can. Your mother can't reassure you the way a man can. Your mother, as good as she is, can't show you where your manhood is. You need a man to teach you how to be a man."
In the world in which we live today, Tupac Shakur's words are a bit politically insensitive, but they are none-the-less heartfelt and powerful.
In Ephesians 6:4, the Apostle Paul said that children desperately need their dads. They NEED them.
They need fathers who don't generate anger in them by the way they treat them.
They need dads who will "bring them up;" be there for them; who will nurture them; who will encourage them.
They need dads who will teach them how to be disciplined. They need dads who will instruct them in the teachings of the Lord.
Children need fathers -- not absent fathers, not wimpy, emasculated fathers, not Biblically-illiterate fathers. They need fathers who are active, who are involved, who are loving, who are caring, who are courageous and who are spiritual. Children NEED real dads.