We need to also financially provide for our families as well, and I have saved this for last. I briefly discussed this earlier, but need to expound on it further. Financial provision of our families I feel lead so many fathers astray and ruins so many of our families today, as the quest for money and material possessions drive so much of the focus of fathers today. So many fathers are not content with living a good life as most of our forefathers did. There is such a pressure for a man to want to be measured by his success in life as to the amount of money and material possession he has accumulated. The pressure of owning the largest house, the biggest car, having the best job becomes the driving force for many fathers. God tells us that the pursuit of worldly possessions will not bring us happiness. “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.” Hebrews 13:5 I believe God wants us to be successful in our lives, but when the pursuit of worldly possessions takes the focus of our lives away from the family this can have disastrous results. When the pursuit of wealth becomes the obsession and the driving force in a man’s life, many times they begin to leave their families unprotected. They begin to devote their time to their jobs, their hobbies, their pleasures and their own personal interests. I recently saw a statistic in a leading magazine that showed that fathers on the average spend less than 1 minute a day with their children. I have seen other statistics that state this is 5 minutes a day. Whatever is right doesn’t matter, as this alarming statistic I believe is due primarily to the father’s quest for wealth and money. Fathers that become obsessed with the accumulation of wealth usually don’t have the time to spend with their children as their time is spent in meetings, travel and social events that fill their schedules and take all their time away from their families. When we don’t have time to communicate with our children we leave them unprotected. They are going to communicate with somebody when they need advice, and when the father isn’t around they are going to go to someone else to tell them how to deal with their issues. The people they choose to go to for this advice may not be the people we want them to be confiding in, as they may not give them good advice and counsel, and probably will not reflect the values of the family. I believe fathers need to be aware that when the pursuit of wealth begins to be their primary focus in life, they need to look long and hard as to the effect this is having on their family. The family is a father’s most important asset, and he should value them more than any other thing. God tells us to be content with our situation as he will provide all our needs. Money and the accumulation of material wealth should not control our lives.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 16:47:38 +0000