June 17: Breaking the Cycle

It's been said that Mother’s Day is a day devoted to honoring moms while Father’s Day is a day to beat men up for not doing a better job! That's not been my experience at all. My family treats me like a king and showers me with affection and appreciation on Father's Day--it's wonderful!

Father's Day can stir up a lot of painful stuff, though. We inherit the pain and consequences of our father’s bad choices and sins. We often repeat the same bad habits generation after generation. My own dad was physically abused as a child. He wanted to break the cycle and in many ways he did, and in some ways he failed. He had a lot to overcome.

It’s time to break the cycle. In the Old Testament the Prophet Malachi spoke for God, "See, I will send one in the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah; he will go before the Lord and will bring many of the people back to the Lord their God. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Malachi 4:5-6, Luke 1:16-17)

God wants to empower dads, to bless them and help them me a blessing to their families. Role models are needed; dads who walk with God and are committed to passing on eternal values to the next generation.

Rick Warren notes that our culture basically values four things - pleasure (I want to feel good!), possessions (I want to make a lot of money!), prestige (I want other people to envy me!), and power (I want to be in control!). The kids you care about can do better than that! We need to help cultivate substantive character and convictions.

Young people need to know we believe in them and that they have our blessing. They need to know we aren't holding on to power, territory, or authority. They need to know we believe in them and their potential to take God's love to the world.

God wants to break the cycle of abuse and resentment, to turn fathers and children’s hearts back to each other. Forgiveness brings freedom from past failure! What’s at stake if we fail?

A little boy who grows up without an involved, affectionate, affirming dad can carry a lot of hurt and bitterness. If you had an absent, preoccupied, passive or mean dad, you are probably an angry man. If you had a father who let you down you have some choices to make: repeat the sins of your father or break the cycle. Carry the pain and bitterness or forgive, and redeem your family line.

God wants to set you and your family free. Are you still bound by the sins of your father, or your father’s father? Let God set you free and set you on a course of godliness and reconciliation for generations to come. If you can reconcile your past you won’t be doomed to repeat the sins of your father or father’s father. You’ll be a good dad to your own kids, or step-kids. You will have broken the cycle. You will be free. Forgiveness brings freedom from past failure!

~ Father, thank you for the fathering I got from my own Dad and from others who helped fill in the gaps. Help me to break the cycle of generational strongholds and set the next generation free. Amen.