June 18, 2012 Another way in which Satan attacks men and their families is to make it as difficult as possible for us to accomplish our God given role as spiritual leader. Too few men take the responsibility of being the spiritual leader in their home seriously. One pictures a typical Christian family preparing for bed with Mom reading a Bible story and leading the kids in their bed time prayer. If Dad is present he may be seen leaning against the door waiting for Mom to finish so he can kiss his children goodnight. As a father it is my responsibility to give my children biblical instruction. Unfortunately the average Dad does not know how to teach scriptural truth to his children. Fortunately for us, God gave Moses some simple directions which all of us can follow. 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (ESV) As a Dad I must first instruct my children about spiritual truth by loving God myself. Christianity is better caught than taught. For too long too many have told our children about God, instead of showing them how we love God. How do I do this? By being real! God’s word must be in my heart. I must have my own personal relationship with Christ before I try and teach my children about Christ. Kid’s are wired from birth to spot all of our inconsistencies. What father has not had one of his children in their innocence tell on us because of something we said or did in their presence. How did you react to their observation? Did you apologize or did you lie? Did you scold them and tell them to mind their own business? Our kid’s know us and before they will take any of our spiritual instruction seriously they must see that we love God and are living for Him. Next, we are told teach God’s commandments to our children with diligence. How is this done? By talking about the things of God throughout our day. We are to be talking with them about God’s word and the things of God as we go to work, as we have breakfast, and as we go about living our lives with our children. One cannot be an absentee father and a spiritual leader to your children. Finally, when our children see our hands or look us in the eye they should see authenticity. Culturally we have trouble understanding these verses. A few years ago there was a popular song Daddy’s Hands, by Holly Dunn which can help us understand the point of these verses. As a Dad the legacy I leave my kid’s should include memories of my loving God and living for Him. Dad when you die what sort of eulogy could your children give concerning you were they to speak at your funeral. Would they talk of how your were a fan of some sports team? Would they speak of how much money you made? Could they say that you loved and served God? Could they say that they had caught a love for Christ from you? May God help us to raise our children in a way which honors Him, and teaches them to love Him also.