“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4 KJV)

There are few problems in our society here in the USA that cannot be traced back to a failure of fathers to instill Godliness in their children. The number of families without a father in the home is on the increase. Couple this with a time when men (and women too) are consumed — sometimes literally, as with drugs and alcohol — by their own wants and desires, the spiritual needs of their children as well as their physical well being is often neglected. Speaking from past experience I can tell you that men, at least those men that do not know the Lord (and tragically so, some Christian men too), see teaching their children as “women’s work.” Therefore the children are not brought up according to scripture with a Godly father teaching them respect and responsibility.

As a result, we have generations of children and youth who are provoked to wrath because of the lack of Godly influence by a father in their homes. Whatever your feelings about the roles of men and women, the fact remains that God has ordained the man, the father, to be the spiritual head of the household (Gen. 2:18, 1 Cor. 11:3). This reversal of leadership is entirely the result of men who refused to take up the mantle of authority, leaving the woman (no choice but) to assume a position for which she was not intended.

Until we return to this Biblical mandate from God, our homes, our schools, our streets, and our churches will continue to be troubled by the failure of the men of our society to take up their responsibility to nurture their children in the admonition of the Lord.

As I write this column, I am certain that there are those who will argue that education, race, employment status, income level, and other societal factors, play a major role in this transition. There may of course, be a shred of truth to those arguments. The fact remains that the overwhelming reason for the lack of a Godly father in the home, is the scarcity of Godly men in our culture.

Come on guys, we can do better — the future of our children and grandchildren hangs in the balance.

Rev. Bobby Thornhill is a retired pastor.