Our country is facing a crisis right now, but I’m not sure most people recognize it. We’re focused on the economy—people are losing jobs, banks are failing, the stock market is falling and our auto manufacturers are looking for help. But the economy is not our biggest problem. We have another threat to our society that is even worse and that is the deterioration of our family structure.
God’s plan for the family starts with the father being the spiritual leader, provider and head of the household. In America today, we are moving farther and farther away from that model. Our legal system is trying to make sure that dads are providing financial support for their children, and while that’s necessary, it isn’t nearly enough. Our kids need the teaching, guidance and love that dads should provide and because they are not getting it, we’re seeing a multitude of problems.
Low graduation rates, juvenile arrests, teen pregnancies and just the general dysfunction that we’re seeing in our families today can be traced to the absence of fathers in the home. And if we don’t change the momentum soon, we may not be able to pull out of this.
I was very fortunate to have my dad around for the first forty nine years of my life. I learned a lot from him and I’m still using many of those lessons today. Not just how to do things that boys need to learn to have fun, like how to throw a ball or ride a bike. But I also learned a lot of things from him about life. I learned why it’s important to study and work hard to get good grades. I learned how control my temper, how to treat other people with respect, how to deal with disappointments as well as successes. And I learned about family—how to treat a wife, how to treat children and how to provide for them. I also got something else because of my dad—access to the rest of his family and a chance to learn things from grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins..
Today our boys and girls aren’t always getting a chance to have these advantages. They’re not getting to learn these lessons with the help of a father and the only way that is going to change is if we men do something to break this cycle. Freddie Scott is tackling this issue with "The Dad I Wish I Had." He is not only providing an honest look at the problem but giving sound biblical solutions for overcoming it. I know that reading it will be enlightening and challenging. My hope is that this book inspires you to think about ways we can get our dads back to their rightful place in this country—involved and active in their children's lives.
