Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

This past Sunday was Father’s Day. Yesterday I wrote about my father, whose birthday often fell on Father’s Day. So I thought I’d share a few more thoughts about fathers with you today.

Many of problems with youth today are attributed to not having a father in the home or not having a father who provides a positive role-model. I read the story of a preacher who had a stray dog show up at his house. His three boys fell in love with that dog. There were three long white hairs in the tail of what was otherwise a completely black coat of fur. A short time later there was an ad in the paper announcing a lost dog that perfectly described their new pet. Knowing how attached his boys had become to this animal, he took them outside and together they carefully separated the three white hairs in the tail and removed them. The real owner heard that this preacher had found a dog, and came to see if it might be his lost pet. The dog showed every sign of recognition, and the man was ready to take him home. But the preacher said, “Didn’t you say that your dog had three white hairs in its tail?” The owner, unable to find those identifying marks, was forced to leave. The preacher later confided, “we kept the dog, but I lost my three boys for Christ.” His sons no longer had any confidence in what their father professed. He had not practiced what he preached.

His actions spoke much louder than his words. We all need to be aware that our children are watching to see whether or not our actions will match our words.

We need fathers who are willing to lead their homes in a manner that is God-pleasing, pointing to Christ and living in response to the salvation He gives. A young man named Jim had such a father. He lived in Hamilton, Missouri. While a teenager, he got a job working for a grocer. He liked his work and planned to make a career of it. One night he came home and proudly told his father how shrewd his employer was. The grocer made it a habit to mix low quality coffee in with the premium, expensive brand in order to increase his profit. Jim laughed as he told this story at the supper table. But his father, a Baptist minister, didn’t laugh. He saw nothing funny about the practice of cheating people. He said, “Tell me, if your employer found that someone was pawning off an inferior product to him for the price of the best, would he think they were being shrewd and laugh about it?” Jim could see that his father was disappointed. “I guess not,” he replied, “I guess I never thought about it that way.” Jim’s father told him to go to the grocer the next day, collect whatever wages he had coming, and to inform him that he would no longer be working there. Jobs were not plentiful in Hamilton, but Rev. Penney would rather his son be unemployed than to be associated with a crooked businessman. It was just one of the many lessons James Cash Penney learned from his father on his way to establishing the retail empire that we know as JCPenny. In fact, his name became synonymous with doing business according to the Golden Rule. This was due in large part to the positive witness of his Christian father.

I pray that all Christian fathers will strive to be a good example and bring their children up in the training and instruction of the Lord.