The Absent Father
In June we celebrate Fathers’ Day – or do we? Sometimes we forget. It doesn’t seem as important as Mothers’ Day in May. Why would that be? God created us to have a father and a mother. Kids need both parents, and when that does not happen, the results can be tragic and traumatic:
- 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census)
- 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes. (Source: U.S- D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census)
- 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. (Source: Center for Disease Control)
- 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes. (Source: Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p- 403-26, 1978)
- 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. (Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools)
- 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes. (Source: Rainbows For All God's Children.)
- 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes. (Source: U.S. Dept. of justice, special Report, Sept 1988)
These statistics translate to mean that children from a fatherless home are: *5 times more likely to commit suicide *32 times more likely to run away *20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders *14 times more likely to commit rape *9 times more likely to drop out of high school *10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances *9 times more likely to end up in a state-operated institution
Fathers, is it possible for you to be at home and yet absent? Ellen White says,
“Fathers, spend as much time as possible with your children. Seek to become acquainted with their various dispositions, that you may know how to train them in harmony with the word of God. Never should a word of discouragement pass your lips. Do not bring darkness into the home. Be pleasant, kind, and affectionate toward your children, but not foolishly indulgent. Let them bear their little disappointments, as everyone must.â€
If you are a father, I pray that you will give your child the gift of love, spelled T-I-M-E. If you do not have a father, I pray that you will take courage in the following promise, as expressed by David, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.†Happy Fathers’ Day!