It’s beginning to feel like a new day. Folks are fleeing the two-dimensional zoom world and doing things in ways that actually feel normal again. Hints of optimism are popping up and there seems to be a growing readiness to celebrate. What a great backdrop for the entrance of Father’s Day, 2021! If ever there was a time when our nation needed to shine a spotlight on the incredible impact of fatherhood, it is now, and highlighting the vital role that issue plays is our primary objective today. Interestingly, the emergence of fresh questions about the origin of the COVID pandemic serves as an opening introduction . . . 

A Fading Taboo ~
For most of the past year, inquiries about the origin of the COVID-19 virus were taboo, at least as far as the mainstream media and their “scientific” sources were concerned. That seems to be changing now, and though the truth is not likely to be revealed any time soon (or ever), searching for answers makes sense. When a destructive force is unleashed that actively spreads death and destruction, identifying the poisoned well from which it flows is vitally important. It’s a foundational step in not only confronting the plague but also preventing more outbreaks in the future. 

That brings us to the point we don’t want to miss. There’s another pandemic that’s been unleashed, and it’s doing incomprehensible damage and levying an incalculable cost on all of us.  The absence of fathers in multiplied millions of America’s homes is a plague all its own. Absentee fathers infect children in ways that affect their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual functioning. The holes they leave in the hearts left behind fill up with things like fear, distrust, shame, rage, hatred, a sense of abandonment, worthlessness, hopelessness, and a desire for vengeance and retribution. The “fatherless plague” in America’s homes has filled our streets with blood and our prisons with young men and women, so many of whom would not have been there if a father had been active in their lives. Unlike COVID, the origin of this pandemic isn’t hard to identify. 

A Systematic Assault ~
This deadly species began when our colleges and universities divorced themselves from God’s principles and adopted Marxist ideals. They soon became spiritually vacuous and morally corrupt psychosocial “labs” and began to reinterpret moral codes and social behavior. Eventually they were joined by liberal politicians, media moguls, and the entire entertainment industry. Traditional roles in films and TV have been diminished, scrapped, perverted, and openly mocked. All in all, we have witnessed a well-choreographed and systematic assault on traditional families for generations, particularly the vital role of fatherhood. At this point, having a father in the home is no longer seen as a powerful mechanism for establishing, promoting, and preserving individual security, social stability, and national prosperity. 

Here’s some disquieting truth. As Father’s Day, 2021 dawns, it will leave a dark Saturday night behind in many of our cities and towns . . . 

• • Innocent people, possibly children, will have been shot for no reason, and some of them will die. 
  • Someone’s home will have been invaded, the occupants assaulted, and their property destroyed or stolen. 
  • An uncounted number of frightened girls will have been pressured, emotionally manipulated, drugged, or otherwise forced into unwanted sexual activity, and many will be violently raped. 
  • Unknown numbers of destitute souls will have overdosed and died in the filth littering some gutter, perhaps exhaling their last labored breath only a short drive from the ostentatious mansion of some bloviating politician who worked to make the drug that killed him or her more accessible. 
  • Teenage boys will pay the price of initiation into some gang by committing acts of violence, possibly against defenseless, elderly people who had done them no wrong. 

We could go on, but you get the picture.

We Know at Least One Thing ~
We won’t know who will have committed most of these crimes because the vast majority of them will never be apprehended or prosecuted, but we know at least one thing about them. Though no one will report it, virtually every perpetrator of these awful events will have grown up without a father in his or her home. The impact of fatherlessness is not a mystery. Perusing the available data leaves no doubt that fatherlessness is a vital issue. It is one of the most powerful common denominators underlying much of the devastation plaguing our country. Here are a few examples of the impact of fatherlessness gleaned from a piece I published previously, Father’s Day ~ What If We Lit Up More than the Grill?

• • 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes – 32 times the average.
  • 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average. 
  • 80% of rapists come from fatherless homes –14 times the average. 
  • 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average. 
  • 70% of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average. 
  • 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average. 
  • 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes – 5 times the average. 

Now, as we shift personal and national attention toward our fathers, we’d like to offer a few suggestions. Because God addressed an admonition to us dads directly, His words are more than appropriate, especially in the opening phrase:  

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4 NKJV)

 For those blessed with having a father in your family’s home …

• • Celebrate the blessing that he represents and praise God for the gift He has given to you and your family.
  • Honor that relationship by making respect for the father God gave you honest and visible, and thank God for what He has taught you through it.
  • Support your father’s role even though his performance may be flawed. Rejoice in his protective influence, though it may not always be apparent.
  • Defend your father’s position. Don’t diminish its importance, even if many of the duties associated with it seem mundane and insignificant. 
  • Most importantly, forgive the man who carries the burden of that role in your life for any failures that cloud your relationship with him.

For those blessed by being a father in your family’s home …

• • Celebrate the blessing that God has bestowed on you, and praise Him by recommitting yourself to the stewardship of your family.
  • Honor your fatherhood by recognizing that it was God who created it, who embodies it Himself, and who bestowed it on you. Remember that the capacity to father children is part of what it means for you to have been made in His image. 
  • Uphold the distinguished position God gave fatherhood by demonstrating faithful moral character and carrying out your duties as a primary protector of the family … not just from physical harm, but from spiritual and psychological attacks as well.
  • Defend your role by refusing to abandon it even when it feels like drudgery. Remember that the power of your love and your presence alone has greater positive influence for your family’s future security and prosperity than anything in the list of your achievements.
  • Finally, admit and accept your failures. Be open and honest with your Heavenly Father about your sins, weaknesses, bad choices, displays of hypocrisy, foolish impulsivity, misdirected passions, and anything else that poses a threat to your closeness with Him. Accept and embrace the cleansing and forgiveness that is yours through faith in Jesus Christ, and then confess the ones that are relevant and appropriate to those in your family who need to hear them.

Happy Father’s Day!

May God anoint all our fathers with an outpouring of love, wisdom, courage, and moral strength.

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • “The “fatherless plague” in America’s homes has filled our streets with blood and our prisons with young men and women, so many of whom would not have been there if a father had been active in their lives.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “The fatherless plague began when our colleges & universities divorced themselves from God’s principles & adopted Marxist ideals to became spiritually vacuous, morally corrupt psychosocial labs reinterpreting moral codes & social behavior.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “The impact of fatherlessness is not a mystery. Perusing the available data leaves no doubt that fatherlessness is a vital issue. It is one of the most powerful common denominators underlying much of the devastation plaguing our country.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “Honor your fatherhood by recognizing that it was God who created it, who embodies it Himself, and who bestowed it on you. Remember that the capacity to father children is part of what it means for you to have been made in His image.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “Defend your father role by refusing to abandon it, even when it feels like drudgery. Remember that the power of your love and your presence alone has greater positive influence for your family’s future security and prosperity than anything in the list of your achievements.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  

Check out Ron’s book, “Right Side Up Thinking in an Upside Down World ~ Looking at the World through the Lens of Biblical Truth” 

 The Kindle e-version  is just $1.99. No Kindle device is needed. E-book readers are included on most computers, tablets, and smartphones. If you don’t have one, the free Kindle app can be easily downloaded directly from the Amazon site on almost any device.

                    Click here for a “Look Inside” preview at Amazon.

© 2021 Gallagher’s Pen, Ronald L. Gallagher, Ed.S.  All rights reserved.