Fathers should be champions for their children

A teenage girl was out on a date with her boyfriend. He pulled up to an overlook and was pressuring her to get into back seat with him. She didn't want to but didn't really know how to get out of the situation. Then she remembered what her dad said. She told the boy, "I don't think my dad would want me to do that. Why don't you call him and ask him. If he's OK with it, so am I." He didn't call then and hasn't called her since.

One high-pressure moment in a car couldn't stand up to the years of a father investing in that girl's life.

Fathers are vital. Children in our modern society constantly feel the pressure of the culture around them. Modern children easily embrace technologies of texting, social networking and video chat. Yet at the same time they don't understand honoring boundaries that keep texting from becoming sexting. Modern children need modern champions.

Proverbs says this; "My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways."

The writer of this proverb could have simply said, "Son, Daughter, let me be your champion." A champion is someone you turn to for strength, security and defense. Champions are heroes. This proverb is encouraging dads to speak into the hearts of their children. "Let me be your defender, your hero. You can trust me." The window for influencing the life of your child is small but the influence lasts for a lifetime.

A champion dad doesn't mean that you get everything right all the time. Your children don't need a perfect hero, they need you. They need you to be their champion, and they need you to invest your life in them. They need to know how you choose to live well. They need to know how you define success and how to get there. And probably more important, they need to know what to learn from mistakes.

You are pouring your life into your children whether on accident or on purpose. They see. They are watching. Country singer Rodney Atkins reminds us with these lyrics, "Yeah we're just alike, hey ain't we dad, I wanna do everything you do, so I've been watching you." Let them watch the heart of a champion.

Rob Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more from him at www.robhurtgen.wordpress.com.