Father’s Day
Joshua 24:15 “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Today’s post will deal specifically with Father’s since our country will celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, June 18th. As you can see from the above verse, the great leader of Israel is giving the nation a charge as his days of leading are coming to a close. In the charge, we can learn several valuable insights.
First, Joshua shares something that all men should heed. He led himself before he led anyone else. “But as for me…” the great leader exclaimed. Joshua understood that the mantle of leadership started with himself. Before he expected commitment from others, he had to commit. Before he asked others to put in extra hours, he worked late. You get the point, Joshua led by example. That is always step one. Jim Rohn says it best when dealing with this specific point: “Leaders must first be, then do.”
Second, just as this was personal for Joshua, his desire was that it was also personal for his family and nation. “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” He knew from years of leading that no one could legislate something like this. It has to be a personal decision made in individual hearts. Joshua knew that individuals were responsible for themselves in their decision-making. As a father, you can model, you can teach, and you can do almost everything right, but one thing you cannot do is reach into your child’s heart and change it. The choice is theirs. As my father would say, “Son, you can’t push someone up a ladder if he’s not willing to climb himself.”
Third, Joshua drew a circle around those he cared for most, his family. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua knew something about influence and wanted to use it to help his family. In Bruce Springsteen’s latest album, Letter to You, he sings a poignant song with the same title. “Things I found out through hard times and good, I wrote 'em all out in ink and blood. Dug deep in my soul and signed my name true, and sent it in my letter to you. In my letter to you, I took all my fears and doubts. In my letter to you, all the hard things I found out. In my letter to you, all that I've found true. And I sent it in my letter to you.” It really is a reflection between the singer and his audience. As an aging rock star looks back at the relationship he has maintained over fifty years, he reflects in the lyrics above and is essentially saying, I poured myself out in my songs for you. A father’s life is similar in that our lives are lived for our children. We pour ourselves out daily because of the ones we love. Fathers, although you cannot guarantee that your child(ren) will follow after the Lord, you can set the tone by creating an environment where a relationship with the Lord is part of the fabric of your home. You can do this by finding opportunities for prayer; you can wisely insert God’s Word into your family's daily life and provide valuable lessons in your own relationship with God. Proverbs chapter 4 is particularly helpful when parenting. In it, the advice of the wise teacher is enduring, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” You will notice that he advises a person to guard their heart. Why? The answer is provided, “Everything you do flows from it.” I guess this must be pretty important, as you and I do not stand guard over meaningless things. I bet no one reading this stands guard over their garbage cans on garbage night. The reason is that they have no value. A father is called to lead in a way that he guards his family. He should use discernment on the things the family listens to, watches, and is influenced by. Your influence over your child(ren) is paramount. No one will have a voice in your family's life like you will.
This brings me to my final point. Around this time of the year, I always listen to Coach Jim Valvano and his inspiring messages. In one of his moving speeches, he refers to his father and says his dad gave him the greatest gift that anyone could ever have given him, “My father believed in me!” He says that every year before the season started, his dad would call him up and say, “Son, my bags are packed.” Meaning when Jim led his team to the championship, his dad would be there. So my final piece of advice for fathers is this: Our expectation is for our children to obey us, and that would be right, but I say, give your child(ren) a reason to obey. Live in such a way that your child(ren) actually wants to listen to you rather than have to. Give your child(ren) the best gift on Father’s Day, an example to aspire to.
