Ahead of Father’s Day on June 16 this year, a West Coast religious leader shared “three damaging lies.” He believes what American fathers are being told, directly or indirectly, in today’s culture — and why fathers need to reject these untruths so they can do the best job possible raising their children.
“Many fathers are hard-working, fun, kind and smart,” said Pastor Jesse Bradley of Grace Community Church in Auburn, Washington.
Yet some of the “damaging lies,” he said, that circulate about authorship today “are misleading and difficult to identify. They are sneaky, strong and simple.”
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Once dug up, “they can be thrown away,” Bradley said.
He told Fox News Digital: “Replacing lies with truth is powerful. » With faith in God, “dads can be freed from the mental traps that can too easily entangle people.”
Some of the “harmful lies” circulating in today’s culture about fatherhood “are misleading and difficult to identify. They are sneaky, strong and simple,” said a Washington state pastor (not pictured). They should be rejected, he said, and replaced with truths of the utmost importance. (iStock, courtesy of user eggeeggjiew)
Just a week before Father’s Day, he shared three lies that he said “need to be removed from the souls of fathers” so that fathers can be the best parents possible for the well-being of their children.
Lie #1: “You can’t be a good father”
Bradley said a “false message of defeat can be debilitating” for fathers.
“It resonates with every failure and every mistake…It’s too heavy a burden” to bear.
“Your past experiences in life do not define you.”
Men whose fathers were “absent, abusive or distant,” he says, may still carry the scars of those experiences and perhaps “unwittingly live them out in their own lives.”
Bradley, himself a husband and father of four, said: “God is a healer and close to the brokenhearted. God is the Father of orphans. You have a Heavenly Father who is always faithful and good – so receive His love that endures. forever.”
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For fathers who may be struggling in their role, he said, “God will bring other men into your life from whom you can learn and who will fill some of the ‘father void’ you may have endured.” Your past experiences in life do not. I don’t define you.”
“The truth is, you can be the father you never had.” (iStock, courtesy of user Shironosov)
So, “let the negative things motivate you to become very different,” he advised.
“Your story is not over. The truth is, you can be the father you never had.”
Lie #2: “It’s good to be an independent father”
Many men these days are tempted or encouraged to “go solo, which at first may seem appealing,” Bradley said.
“Relationships can be complicated sometimes, but they are worth the investment.”
In a chaotic culture, “independence seems to be less complicated and involves less drama. Retreating to the ‘man cave’ can provide some shelter from the storm,” he said.
The Christian pastor said the problem with this way of thinking is that “we are not made for isolation. We all need God and others.”
“Entertain your children and connect with them daily. Listen to their fears, find meaningful activities, give them sound advice, create memories together.” (iStock)
The lie here, he says, “is that we are self-sufficient and can control our lives better if no one is near or around us. We indulge in entertainment and hobbies as a refuge. Or work becomes our escape. Life becomes superficial.
According to him, it is “common in a fast-paced, difficult culture to drift away from God, to drift away from your spouse, to drift too far away from your children – and to not have many friends relatives “.
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Bradley said: “No father wants to be distant. Relationships can be complicated sometimes, but they are worth it.”
He added: “Connections with family bear a lot of fruit. »
Lie #3: “Being a father isn’t that important”
While many other people “can do your job at work, replace you on your weekend men’s team, or serve wherever you volunteer, you are the only person in the world who is the father of your children,” she said. Bradley said, speaking directly to dads.
Pastor Jesse Bradley, pictured with this family, has a message for other fathers: “God is with you every step of the way. The truth is that being grateful and intentional as a father leads to deep joy. » (Wayne Jackson)
This special role, he said, “should be cherished and high on the list of priorities.”
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Bradley said, “Enjoy your children and connect with them daily. Listen to their fears, find meaningful activities, give them sound advice, create memories together, read the Bible, open your heart, participate in their games, go on a trip. , pray with them – and try your best dad jokes.
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He said a father’s job “is relational, intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual.”
He advised other fathers: “Don’t give your best at work and just take the ‘leftovers’ home.”
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He also said, “God is with you every step of the way. And the truth is, being grateful and intentional as a father leads to the deep joys of fatherhood.”