TRIBUTE TO MY FATHER

TRIBUTE TO MY FATHER

(Richard Morgan)

One of the most troubling trends within our current cultural milieu is the popularity of making fathers and husbands out to be imbeciles. Consider one of the longest running sit-coms to have aired on television in recent years, Married With Children. Al Bundy was the epitome of a modern day imbecile. Americans sat in their living rooms and laughed as the drunken looser made a fool out of himself, and all the while we were making fools out of ourselves. Consider also the imbecility of a Homer Simpson or a Hank Hill. The popular children’s cartoon The Barenstein Bears follows suite as well, continually making dad out to be, well, not quite as smart or insightful as his own children. And the producers of one of Nickelodean’s current children’s programs The Sweet Life of Zach and Cody apparently decided that the presence of a father is not only non-essential but completely irrelevant. Children watch as these two young boys wreak havoc in their expensive high rise condo under the sole supervision of the mother. One might think the absence of the father would be explained by divorce or death or some other tragedy; but apparently the producers consider fathers to be so insignificant that the issue is never even addressed! Just a glaring absence of any male leadership whatsoever, an element which goes largely undetected by the vast majority of watchers and silently teaches today’s culture that fathers are absolutely unnecessary.


The Bible teaches us something completely different, however. We see very clearly all throughout Scripture the essential paradigm of male leadership within the family and within the church. Apparently, God doesn’t find fathers to be irrelevant at all. In fact it seems that God esteems the necessity of fathers to be so strong that He gave them the place of highest authority and laid upon them the greatest bulk of responsibility. Contrary to popular opinion, fathers play a vital role in the healthy development of children and the stability of the family unit; and the absence of a father will ultimately leave children and families sadly deficient in ways that may never be realized. I can tell you that my own father had a very great deal to do with who and what I am today. There are at least four main areas of my personhood that derive directly from principles which I learned from my father. Take a look at them with me.


1. A Solid Work Ethic:
All throughout my childhood I watched my father work six and sometimes seven days a week. There weren’t many days when my father didn’t get up in the morning, have a cup of coffee and head out to the body shop. In fact, if my father didn’t go to work, you could assume that something extremely terrible had happened. Day in and day out, year after year, I watched my father go to work in the morning even if he was sick, even if he was injured, even if he hadn’t had any sleep the night before, even if he had a throbbing sinus headache, which he actually suffered with chronically. This solid work ethic, inspired by a sense of duty and responsibility to provide for his family was slowly instilled in my own heart and taught me that a solid work ethic is part of what it means to be a man. Without it, I would be less of a man then I am today. I thank you dad from the bottom of my heart for teaching me this essential characteristic of manhood.


2. A Strong Resolve:
All throughout my life, I don’t think I have ever seen my dad give up on anything he had truly set his mind to accomplish. My father has successfully started and operated two different body shops in two different states. It seems like he always succeeds in everything he does and at least part of the reason for that success is that he absolutely refuses to give up. When times get hard, my dad grits his teeth and bears it. When difficult situations threaten to halt progress, my dad finds a way to work through it. When the only way foreword is through great personal sacrifice, my dad steps up to the plate and gives until he has nothing left to give. A resolve like this is crucial to what it means to be a man. A fickle man is no man at all. A man who will launch out with grandiose plans and turn back at the slightest sign of difficulty simply isn’t worth his salt. My dad taught me that at least one element of what it means to be a man is that real men have a strong sense of resolve. They pursue their goals with a radical tenacity that only death or Christ’s return can prevent. I thank you dad from the bottom of my heart for teaching me this principle. Without it I would be less of a man than I am today.


3. A Commitment to Excellence:
My father has been an Auto body and paint technician all of his life. And in order to be successful in this business, you absolutely must have a commitment to excellence. There is no way a customer will pay the repair bill on their car if it is not absolutely perfect, or at least within a very small margin of being perfect. Eventually, I became an auto body and paint technician as well. Before the Lord called me to serve him in Christian ministry, I did professional body and paint work for twelve years. I don’t mind telling you I am exceptionally good at it, which is one of the reasons I struggled with the call to ministry for so long. But it was my father’s commitment to excellence which inspired me to embrace the same commitment. This is a principle that can also be seen in every area of my dad’s life. In his spare time, he builds furniture of the highest quality, featuring intricate craftsmanship and the unique beauty, which comes with custom hand-built furniture. A man who does not have a commitment to excellence is a man who will wallow in mediocrity all the days of his life. I thank you dad from the bottom of my heart for teaching me to embrace a commitment to excellence. Without it, I would be less of a man than I am today.


4. A Sense of Dignity:
Here is an essential element which is tragically missing from today’s culture, especially with regard to manhood. My dad taught me that there is a sense of dignity that comes with being a man. In fact, manhood has a two-fold dignity. First, there is an intrinsic dignity. This is a dignity that is possessed simply by virtue of the fact that God created you as a man. Contrary to popular belief, gender is a good gift from God. I don’t mean to slight women here; there is just as much intrinsic dignity in womanhood as there is in manhood, but please bear with me; after all this is a Fathers Day post.


There is also an extrinsic dignity that is not possessed by all males. Regardless of the way men, husbands, and fathers are being portrayed in popular sit-coms, to truely be a man, husband and father should bring a sense of dignity and pride. I’m not talking about a man who by virtue of his birth, simply possesses male gender. The extrinsic dignity of manhood is far, far more than a gender issue. I’m not talking about a man who is a husband only by virtue of the fact that he is married. The extrinsic dignity that comes with being a husband in the true sense of the word involves more than simply being united in matrimony. And I’m not talking about a man who is a father simply by virtue of the fact that he copulated with a woman and produced offspring. No, no, not at all! I’m talking about a man, husband and father who embraces and embodies all of the essential characteristics I have mentioned in this post. True manhood should bring a sense of dignity. To truly be a husband to your wife should bring a sense of dignity. And to truly be a father to your children should bring a sense of dignity. But this extrinsic dignity doesn't belong to males who refuse to progress on to true manhood by embracing the principles expressed in this post.


It is truly unfortunate that when I look around, I see so many males forsaking the dignity and honor that comes with embracing these principles and responsibilities, in order to remain perpetually adolescent. What a sickening picture it is to see a male in his thirties, forties and even fifties, who really is still a teenager with regard to maturity level. No male should hold himself out to be a true man, husband and father if this is their mindset. A true man will have a solid work ethic, a strong resolve, a commitment to excellence, and where these principles are embraced and lived out to their fullest potential, a true man can also have a sense of dignity.


So, thank you dad for modeling and teaching me these essential principles, and for being such an influential figure in my life and development. Happy Father’s Day!!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shane Morgan