I realize that not everyone has had the opportunity to grow up in a household of faith. Many have lived through the reality of a broken home, a “dead-beat” Dad, or even an abusive upbringing. For me, that was not the case. Not that my home was idyllic or perfect in every way, but the more I reflect upon it, the more I realize the great privilege that was given to me during my growing up years. My Dad had much to do with that.

Fathers are designed to set the tone for their family. They don’t always teach explicitly, but their behavior models for their kids the most important values and principles in life. This has always been true and is why the Lord gave instructions to the men of Israel regarding how to train their sons and their son’s sons in Deuteronomy 6:1-9. These instructions were deemed so important by the early Rabbis of the Jewish faith that they began to recite them as a daily prayer and are still used today by devout Jews. It is known as the “Shema” (pronounced Sheh-MAH).

Here, God tells fathers to be a role model “all the days of thy life” in living for the Lord. In addition to simply loving the Lord with all your heart, the man was instructed to live it out before his children. Verse seven says that to diligently teach the commandments of the Lord requires us to “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”. In other words, demonstrate the principles of God in how you are living each day. This reminds me of just a few of the principles that I learned from my own Dad:

HUMILITY – My Dad was strong, capable, wise, and willing to tackle just about anything that was thrown at him. However, he always showed humility in his ways. He respected those in authority, even when he had bosses at work that would not always treat him fairly. If there was a way to resolve a problem by willingly “taking the short end of the stick”, he would do it with humility.

A WORK ETHIC – Another example from my Dad was the work ethic he exhibited. His employment didn’t always give him a regular shift to work, but he always made it a point to be there early. He was often up and gone before I got out of bed in the morning. When he got home, he had other work to do at our home or orchard. He wasn’t a man whose life was filled with hobbies or leisure. His work ethic was a model worth following.

A BIBLICAL EXAMPLE – Unlike many families in our culture today, my Dad led our family to church each week. But his example for Christ was not just a Sunday charade. He regularly kept tracts with him and on many occasions I saw him giving one out or looking for an open door to speak to someone about the Lord. And, while he didn’t make a big deal of it, I also would see him reading his Bible and I knew he was praying for his family. These were just a few ways that my Dad was a model for how to live for Christ.

As I said above, my Dad isn’t perfect. But, my Dad has been a great example and role model to me. Many areas of my life continue to fall short of the model that he has been to me. You may not have had that role model in your life as many homes don’t today. If not, don’t let that discourage you. Be a role model for someone else to follow. There is an old saying that continues to be true which states - “Your talk talks and your walk talks but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.”