By
Pastor Chuck Baldwin
May
16, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
More
than three decades as a senior pastor leads me to shout the
question, "What in the world has happened to America's
parents?" Have they gone mad, or do they just not care
anymore? The signs suggest something is seriously amiss inside
America's homes. As a pastor, I see this on a daily basis.
It
seems that, for the most part, today's parents have little or no
control over their children. Even in our churches, by the time a
child reaches the ripe old age of two or three, he or she is out
of control! I mean totally out of control! And by the time the
child reaches five or six, he or she is spoiled beyond rotten! I
mean deep down, through and through, the-world-revolves-around-me
kind of spoiled!
What
in the world has happened to America's parents? Perhaps the better
question is, "What has happened to America's fathers?"
When
I was growing up, there was no question who was in charge of our
home. Dad was a mild mannered, soft spoken southerner, but there
was no questioning his authority or his willingness to enforce the
law. And by the law, I mean HIS law.
It
did not matter to a hill of beans what anyone else thought about
it: Dad, not Mom, made the rules, and bless God, I was made to
comply! Believe me, Dad never hesitated to apply the board of
education to the seat of knowledge!
My
father taught me a work ethic by making me earn my allowance. He
taught me the value of a dollar by making me save for things I
wanted to buy. He taught me honesty by never accepting anything
less than the truth. He taught me courage by making me face my
difficulties head on. Furthermore, I was never given anything for
which I cried or whined.
When
I was old enough to get a car, Dad made me pay for it out of money
I earned. I bought the gas and oil-and insurance, too. If the car
needed repairing, I also paid for that. Beyond that, I never even
had a credit card. Imagine.
Do
you want more? I even worked and earned my way through college?
Dad figured his job was getting me through high school. After
that, I was on my own.
That
is not to say that Dad was unwilling to help me from time to time.
He did. But the burden of earning a living and feeding a family
rested squarely on my own shoulders.
While
living at home, we never went hungry, but seldom ate at
restaurants or had fancy dinners. And the idea of "keeping up
with the Joneses'" never entered our minds. In fact, I soon
learned that the surest way to NOT get something was to begin my
request with, "All the other kids have it."
I'm
sure that to many modern day parents, my father would seem harsh,
even brutish. I don't believe it. I have been able to successfully
face the adult world and raise three children because of the
values and principles I learned from my mother and father.
So,
what has happened to that kind of man, to that kind of father?
What has happened that has turned men into milquetoasts? How is it
that big, strong men can be turned to mush by children?
Masculinity
has nothing to do with how many pounds a man can lift at the gym,
or how many packs of Budweiser beer he can consume before passing
out, or how many women he can "score."
Masculinity
involves taking leadership and responsibility. It makes a man get
up and go to work, pay the bills, manage his finances, and
discipline his children. It involves hard work and determination,
commitment, and perseverance. Manhood, and especially fatherhood,
is not for the weak or faint of heart. It requires sobriety and
fidelity.
Yet,
take a look around. What do we see? We see lazy, spoiled, self
centered children. Children without discipline. Children without
commitment. Children void of honesty or thrift.
No
wonder our jails are packed to the point that judges are releasing
criminals early due to lack of space. No wonder merchants keep
raising prices to try and make up for losses due to theft and
shoplifting. No wonder public school teachers have become little
more than junior corrections officers. No wonder pharmaceutical
companies are making a fortune selling behavior modification drugs
to children. And since Dad won't control his kids, you can rest
assured Big Brother will!
The
problem is not the kids; the problem is the parents, especially
the fathers!
The
truth is, there are not too many problems confronting our country
that could not be solved with old fashioned mothers and fathers
who would pay the price to raise old fashioned hard working,
independent, honest, well behaved, patriotic children!
Then
again, it does seem to me that Uncle Sam and the powers that be
really don't want Americans producing those kind of children, as
that would put a monkey wrench in their plans for a New World
Order. But that's a subject for another day.
©
2006 Chuck Baldwin - All Rights Reserved
