SAY WHAT??

As Father's Day rapidly approaches, I know it brings with it a myriad of feelings. Some are fond memories of dad, some not so much, and even some horrible. Whatever your memories of your dad or absence of, they are your memories. If yours are bad, I just want to tell you now how sorry I am for that.

Dads make a difference. Dads have an impact whether they know it or not. One area where dads have powerful influence is in what they choose to say. I am not talking about what is said to our children, but just what is said in general. Sounds simple, but what dads say is often more impactful than what they tell their children.

As a dad I know all too often, there is a big difference between what we tell our children they should do or say, and what we say (or how we say it). Funny, but have you ever found yourself yelling at your kids to stop yelling? Or screamed in a somewhat foul manner demanding them to speak respectfully? You're not alone...I never have, but - just kidding...

I am not writing to admonish or correct dads for how you speak to your children, relax. What I am asking is that we would consider why we speak the way we do, and the words we choose to use when doing so. We have a Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally and has given us a model of fatherhood, and He gave us all kinds of useful truths we could apply to parenting. Problem is that we really don't consider them truths at all, but more like helpful tips to be used if we so choose.

We want to claim some promises in God's Word that benefit us and then look at other areas of His Word as optional. Every promise of Scripture is conditional, and every promise is true if we do our part. God's Word is not just a great bunch of stories, but a practical resource for our lives. One place where it should start is with our words, and especially how and what we say to our children.

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," James 1:19.

Don't swear to do better, just do it. Don't swear not to yell any more, just stop it. This works for all our communications too. What do your words say about you? How do you deliver those words, and what does that say? Angry? Interrupted? Tired...? Maybe it's time we decided to stop using whatever words pop into our minds at the time, and carefully choose the ones we want others to hear coming out of us. Because after all, if we expect God to be as good as His Word...shouldn't we then be as good as ours?

...just sayin'

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat