What is a great dad? Maybe he is a dad like the picture to the right. After all, this is a good scene, isn’t it? A father and son spend time together playing baseball. Many sons have good memories of their dads teaching them to play catch or how to hit a ball.
Yet, being a great dad is more than this. Being a great dad is about passing on character and goodness which will bless generations to come.
Some what are some of the qualities of a great dad?
1. A great dad treats the mother of his children with adoration and respect. Little children see it all! Nothing gets by them. They see the contemptuous looks and they hear the words that drip with sarcasm. The way you treat their mother, impacts the way they will treat others later on.
2. A great dad is moral, even when his children are not looking. A great dad realizes that an immoral lifestyle impacts his children whether they ever know the details or not. After all, his character is slowly being diminished.
3. A great dad shows his children what it means to love the Lord as he allows them to see his heart and life each day. Children don’t grow up loving God simply because they’ve seen Dad sing loudly at church. Rather, they grow up loving God because they have seen how the Lord has impacted his life.
4. A great dad lives his own life and deals with his own issues himself. He doesn’t use and manipulate his children into thinking that they must somehow make their daddy happy.
5. A great dad behaves like a grown up. It is true that parents can be friends to their children. However, more than needing friendship, children need a parent.
6. A great dad tells the truth. There is a certain security that children experience when they learn their parents always tell the truth. However, children who learn that they cannot always count on their parents’ word, grow up wondering they “really mean it” this time.
7. A great dad treats his child right – regardless. A great dad does not allow his moods determine what he says to his children. A great dad lives by his principles not his emotions.