Father and Son

Next up, be slow to anger. “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” (Psalm 145:8) As Fathers, there are times when our children anger us. During those times it’s wise to use God as an example. God is full of great mercy and compassion towards us. We should be the same towards our children. Don’t lash out at them or operate in anger. But try to understand the situation that brought on that anger and see it from the child’s point of view. This is mercy and compassion in operation. God often looks at us in our fallen and limited state and deals with us in compassion and mercy. We can’t be any different with our children.

Third, do not provoke them. “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”(Colossians 3:21 NKJV) The New Living Translation makes it a little plainer, “Fathers, don't aggravate your children. If you do, they will become discouraged and quit trying.”

And better still, the Amplified Bible puts it this way, “Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or fret your children [do not be hard on them or harass them], lest they become discouraged and sullen and morose and feel inferior and frustrated. [Do not break their spirit]”.

As Fathers, we have the awesome power within our hands to mold our children’s lives and their futures. The words we speak to them can either make them or break them for the rest of their lives. Take just a moment to think about that. How many of us have “quit trying” and given up on some hope or dream because of some belittling words issued in anger from a father or mother? Many of us, till this day, still carry with us the scars and wounds inflicted by our own fathers (or lack of a father)? Do we want this for our children? The answer is “No”! We are to speak words of life and encouragement over our kids. Words of blessing and love. This is how we keep them from becoming discouraged from giving up.

Bringing it all home is love. Fathers, love your children - in spite of their faults, their mistakes and their differences from you. Learn to love them as your Heavenly Father loves you. This requires much humility and sacrifice from us. We can also look to Jesus for an example of this. “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient untodeath, even the death of the cross”