Radical Wisdom: A 7-Day Journey For FathersSample

A Father with Few Regrets 

There was an era in business when the “rational method” of decision-making ruled. We created formulas and shot for the highest probability of success and the lowest of failure. We played the odds that if we did certain things, we’d win most of the time.

As fathers, we don’t want to “play the odds” with our kids. No matter what we do, we can’t guarantee they’ll turn out to be wonderful, Jesus-following adults. But we can make decisions that lead to the lowest coefficient of regret for ourselves! We can choose not to do things we’ll regret later on.

So many men live with scars from Dads who didn’t control their tongues and tempers. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” At a minimum, we must shut up. Control our criticism and anger. We don’t usually recognize we’re doing it . . . until it’s done.

We longed to hear words of praise and affirmation from our Dads, but many of us never did. It’s amazing how pride paralyzes us. We’ll ride mechanical bulls, motorcycles, and wakeboards, but we won’t push through our fears of sounding weird or soft by telling our sons and daughters how special they are and how much we love them.

Are you all-in for your kids? Are you fathering so you’ll have the least coefficient of regret down the road?

Question: Will you ask God to show you the biggest thing you’ll regret as a father years from now? Then ask Him to give you the courage to tackle it?