Tom Tozer and Bill BlackIt's hard not to be cynical about most everything. Our world is marked with bullet holes and blood. We turn on the TV and see a steady stream of horrid stories about substance abuse, domestic violence and utter disregard for human life. A search for honesty and inspiration leads to the discovery of fraud, duplicity and greed.
In many cases, even when someone of heroic proportions is celebrated, we come to find out later that it was all a charade. He cheated to win. She lied to gain attention. He uttered a racial slur then offered a lame apology. She wanted a family so badly that she stole a newborn from the nursery. The money that put them in their mansion comprised the lost retirement savings of thousands of good people. Their elegant lifestyle was built on the backs of child slave labor.
Even some of our superstar athletes and Hollywood celebrities who bask in glory and fame - blessed with talent and privilege beyond belief - behave poorly and appear to have no sense of responsibility to their most adoring public - our kids. What does it do to a young person when his football hero is on trial for murder? How is a youthful fan affected when her heartthrob performer kicks or spits at a photographer? How deceived are all of us when we learn that a veritable sports legend took performance-enhancing drugs to achieve what seemed impossible? Whom do we believe? Whom do we trust? Whom do we want our children to emulate?
The answer may be: No one but dad.
Dad, your role is larger than you may have ever thought. Our world of high-tech glitz, glitter and greed, of pixels that can go global in seconds, where every single person can literally grab 15 minutes or more of fame (or infamy) shrinks in comparison to the lasting influence you can have on your children.
According to a Barna Study published in the Index of Leading Spiritual Indicators, when a man/father is the first person in the family to come to faith, the rest of the family will follow 93 percent of the time. We're not advocating any particular religious path, but we find it interesting, nonetheless, that dad wields that kind of clout in a world full of so many outside distractions.
Dad, we've mentioned before that your teenager may go through a period where he or she never looks at you. On the other hand, he or she is always looking up to you. How ironic it is that dads, us included, have sometimes felt invisible to their children, ghosts in their own homes. Yet, it would seem that dad's mere presence, his actions, his beliefs, his voice, even his humor and laughter are observed and often imitated by his children. Dad, you're it!
Tom Tozer and Bill Black are authors of the new book Dads2Dads: Tools for Raising Teenagers. Like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter at Dads2Dadsllc.com. Contact them at tomandbill@Dads2Dadsllc.com.