I dumped Directv a couple of months ago. I couldn't be happier. I don't spend money for channels I don't watch. I don't surf through endless channels looking for a reason for continuing to pay so much. I hooked up an over-the-air antenna and get channels that I never knew existed.
One of these channels is a country music video channel. One of the videos told the story of a dad who made a point of claiming his son each time he was in trouble. He indicated how proud he was of his son even if he was in trouble.
In one case his son did something that he should have done and a neighbor brings him home so that "dad" can discipline him. The dad tells the man that the son must be his because he was in trouble. It seems dad was proud of his son because he was following in the same bad decisions as he did when he was a boy.
Another verse spoke of his son starting a fight on the football field because an opposing player took a cheap shot at his team's kicker. The son gets kicked out of the game and the dad yells out, "He's mine!" with extreme prided.
I turned off the tv at that point. I just couldnt' watch such childishness. The dad was still living like a child vicariously through his son. What hope did the son have for becoming a man? His dad surely hadn't become one.
Fathers have a noble task in raising their sons. Their goal is to produce a man who knows what is right, speaks what is right and does what is right. He produces a man who does not allow his emotions to overrule his actions. He produces a man who keeps his word, works with integrity and is honored among other men.
Fathers are to be examples for their daughters in defining what a man is. They should be faithful to their mothers without fail. They should gently lead the family in righteousness.
Being called a man should be something very noble.
Lots of males are producing boys. It seems that only a few are producing men.
Proverbs 23:15-16 (NIV)
15
My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad;
16
my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
4 comments:
AMEN!!!
I put God into the verses of Prov 23 quoted by Ps Prentis - vv 15-16. God is saying if we, His children, our hearts are wise, then His heart would be glad; His inmost being would rejoice when our lips speak what is right.
Firstly, we are all children of God. Then, when is our heart wise? How can our heart be wise? What does it mean by our heart being wise? How can wisdom come into our heart? Why would God's heart be glad when our heart is wise?
Foremost, godly wisdom is needed by us all, for living, for being in relationship with God, and for serving God. Godly wisdom is wisdom, of God, NOT men's wisdom, but God's wisdom. How can we get God's wisdom? Many people like to just quote James 1:5, and said that "you only need to ask". But that is NOT the complete picture. If we go further down to James 4:3, we read that we do NOT receive when we ask because we ask with wrong motive.
When we talk about motive, we are talking about the heart. It is NOT just simply we ask, we got to be of right heart condition when we ask; our motive must be right. Actually, James 1:5 said God will give it, when there is no undue reproach. Purity of heart is necessary; and it means you and I have to embrace God's holiness. Wisdom of God can only be had when we embrace God's holiness, for in Scripture, we are told how wisdom is begin to be in us; it is the Fear of the Lord that leads to be beginning of wisdom. What is the fear of the Lord? It is defined in Scripture as, to hate what God hates, which is evil. Evil is what God hates, for God is holiness. So, unless we embrace the holiness of God, wisdom of God does NOT flow to us!
When our heart is wise, it means wisdom of God can flow into us, and it means we satisfy the requirement of holiness, and that is what pleases God's heart. Be holy as God is holy, said 1 Pet 1:16. That is the exhortation, and we being holy would gladden God's heart. God's desire is for us to share in His holiness; I will give us the verse (Heb 12:10) in a minute. As continuation Prov 23:16 said that God's inmost being would rejoice when we speak what is right. From our heart, comes what we speak. Matt 15:18 said, "But the words you speak come from the heart ..." (NLT2007) From a wise heart, fully given to the holiness of God, what proceeds from there, to the mouth, is right; and God rejoices when we are righteous - right with God, or in agreement with God.
COnt...
COnt. from above
The above is truly the desire and will of the Father God. In Hebrews 12 (vv 7-11), we read this:
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Men must first understand how our Father God is bringing us up, and then we too, are to apply that to how we, as men and fathers, are to bring up our children. Too many of us are NOT understanding what our Heavenly Father is doing with us, and are NOT willing to be transformed by God, no wonder so many of us, are NOT doing right with our bringing up of our children.
Indeed the video (Ps Prentis referred to) looked childish - just condoning and saying, "The child is mine" with great pride, was obviously NOT exhortation in the right direction. But what saddens me more, are big time preachers, preaching, "When you sin, just tell the devil off, that you are righteous", instead of (foremost), addressing our failure before God. Such teaching of our future sins are already forgiven us, and it is profaning the blood and name of Jesus, for believers to be confessing and asking God for forgiveness for sins, is NOT helping. Even over-emphasis of when God sees us, God does NOT see us, but only Jesus, is also NOT helping (childish, really!).
1 John 3:10 clearly is speaking to believers, and in relation to father-child relation, it implied there is an on-going test of who are the children of God; he who practises righteousness of God and loves his brethrens are children of God; and those who NOT doing that (practicing righteousness and loving his brethrens) they are NOT, they are the children of the devil!
Cont...
COnt. from above
In the Hebrew text I quoted above, in verse 8, it said that "If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all." Illegitimate children are usually abandoned by their fathers; meaning their fathers are NOT there to bother to discipline the children. So, when we discipline NOT our children, as men and fathers, we are in effect making our children illegitimate children, the way Scripture puts it. God, too, wants to discipline as our Heavenly Father; and when we are NOT under discipline, while we live, we are as illegitimate children of God!
There is however a distinction between who is at fault when children are crossing to be illegitimate zone. In the case of men, it is likely that the men or fathers, are at fault. We failed at being disciplined by God, and so, we are ill-equipped to discipline our children. Is God at fault when we failed at being disciplined by God? The answer is "No", rather it is our failure to be willing to be disciplined, that is the stumbling block. The correct understanding is that Father God wants to work on us, transform us, but we must be willing to allow Him to do so. The verse also said, “it is for our good”. How? So that we may share in God’s holiness. It will make this comment too lengthy to dwell on how we arrive at there is requirement of holiness to be in the presence of God, but there is such. Think about it; how can one NOT wanting holiness dwell with the Holy God!? Have NOT Scripture said, “Without holiness, no one see God?” (Heb 12:14)
To the men or fathers to our children, we must first, be willing to be children who are willing to be disciplined at the hands of the Father God.
Anthony Chia, high.expressions
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