The Future is the Past only Through a Different Gate
Introduction
I feel inadequate to give any guidance to men on who they ought to be. Hence I will use excerpts from articles on the same giving guidance to those looking to be christian men. “Good fathers, Roland says, do three things: provide, nurture and guide. Yet, too many men have warped ideas of what this means, and it sets them up for feeling unworthy. “The ‘provide’ part, a lot of times, men will make that economics,” says Roland. “But it’s not just about presents… but presence…
Quality Time
A lot of people believe money is their most important resource but they’re misguided. Their most important resource is time. In a 26-year-long study, researchers found that the number one factor in developing empathy in children was father involvement. Fathers spending regular time alone with their children translated into children who became compassionate adults.Richard Koestner, et al., “The Family Origins of Empathic Concern: A Twenty-Six Year Longitudinal Study,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58 (1990): 709-717.
Unconditional Love
Mentorship
Mentoring is spiritual fathering (1 Cor. 4:15), and requires not just quality time but quantity time. The need for masculine mentorship is desperate because a dearth of men is the death of a local church and the family. Men were made to take initiative and cultivate life and godliness in those under their care. The ultimate aim of masculine mentoring is to produce divines, not dudes. Not lightweight, culturally relevant men, but holy men, who feel the weight of God’s glory and purposes. Divines love God above all and they love people, not themselves. They know his Word and wield it skillfully. These men plan much, but pray more. They are courageous men of tough love and tender compassion (1 Cor. 16:14).
Conclusion
Arthur Wing Pinero said I believe the future is only the past again, entered through another gate. Could men be more deliberate in helping the younger men find their way to being christian men? Remember your life does not have to be perfect for you to pass on values to younger men. The lessons you have learnt could very well be stepping stones for the younger men to determine their roles as God designed them.