Being A Dad According To The Bible

What does the Bible say about Dads? How should a Dad act and what are his job duties? Most of what I found from studying the Bible is how we are supposed to direct, discipline, encourage, love and teach them. Also, that love should be our main reason for all that we do for kids. Here's what I found:

Direct Them
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6

We are to give our kids direction. Hopefully, we are putting them on a positive path. They are influenced by our actions and look up to us for the 'road map'. It's best if we are following Jesus because He knows where He is going.

Discipline Them
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. - Proverbs 13:24

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. - Proverbs 22:15

Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. - Proverbs 23:13, 14

Discipline is important. According to the Bible, if you don't correct your child for doing wrong when they're young, it's going to hurt them down the road when they get older.

Kids do stupid things and we should expect it. Remember, we discipline them because we love them, not because they make us angry.

Encourage Them
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. - Ephesians 6: 4

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. - Colossians 3: 21

Kids need encouragement because it keeps them motivated. When they do something that is totally awesome, we should tell them. They need the positive feedback.

Love Them
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.  - 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a

The word charity means love. As Dads, everything we do for our child should be done out of love for them. Love is more than just a hug and a kiss. According to the scriptures, it will involve:

• Patience
• Kindness
• Being free of envy
• No prideful boasting
• Honor
• No self-seeking motives
• Being slow to anger
• Not keeping records of any wrong
• Staying away from evil
• Truth
• Protection
• Trust
• Hope
• Endurance
• Never giving up

Teach Them
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.  - Deuteronomy 6: 6-9

We are to teach our children. This involves some one-on-one. As Dads, we have to make time to spend with them.

According to the Bible, our role as a Dad is a serious one. God has given us the responsibility of directing the paths of these wired-up little people that seem to starve for our attention. From the moment they are born, our job is basically to help them become outstanding citizens by planting them firmly on a foundation of Christian values in a world that's going downhill fast. And it's not going to get any better any time soon.

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