You Father Are Good Enough

The Right Man for the Job

The growing consensus for men is that we’re constantly told we’re not good enough.
I sometimes find it tough to think of things to say to a father or better stated a dad on Father’s Day. You might not realize this but anytime the subject of a father or dad or even men in general comes up, it mostly paints a negative depiction of men and fathers. Don’t check out yet. I’m afraid most churches (there are some uncommon exceptions) are guilty of the same and not without reason. It is a perfect time to make Father’s Day an opportunity to point out what a dad should be as if most fathers don’t measure up. I’ve taken the consensus of a number of men who feel as if we’re more times than not told that we are not good enough. Isn’t that a powerful statement? If our words create the world that we see, then what have those words created? It has created a world where the majority of men are viewed as not good enough. My task today is to take this thinking to the next level so that we change the world we’ve shaped by using these very words and thus change them.

To be totally honest, I am amongst the few who are tired of this negative connotation. We’ve pledged our lives to take people, those who give us the opportunity, to the next level. This includes men and fathers. Today we’re going to make the transition and be agents of change with a mission of taking our dads/the men to the next level.

When we’re not good, we’re not good.
There is one thing a dad knows best and it is this fact. When we’re not good, we’re not good. No one needs to tell us when we’re not good. We already know that. I’d like you to take your eyes off of when you weren’t good and think about all the times you were. I have hundreds of successful dad stories. In fact, one could only look at Tamia’s social media posts to see that I would get an award for good dad. The problem is these are highlights. These highlights don’t always match what happens daily. Dads here’s the takeaway. Work everyday to make your actions highlighted. When we’re not good, that’s okay as long as you make it good. A next level dad knows how to turn what’s not good into something good. As a dad, being perfect isn’t a requirement, but making good on what’s gone not so good is. When we’re not good, we make it good.

When we are good, we’re not good.
This statement represents the sad truth. When we (fathers) are good, we’re not good. I blame this on what’s known as the habit loop. The habit loop is the trigger that causes a person to repeat a habit. One of the habits that people in general (which means it’s normal) have is that of always seeing what a man doesn’t do well. By the way, this is not all your fault. In fact, television does the best job of creating this habit. Take a look at all the television shows you watch and try to think of the ones that paint fathers in a positive light. Then think of all the ones you can that paint men as weak, tired, unsuccessful, unintelligent, or in a negative light. In fact, even when you find a show that does a decent job of painting a good picture of a day, they somehow come back around with something to discredit that. It’s this latter one that reigns supreme. The picture is painted so clearly that it almost seems as if the families would be better off without a dad. This picture is painted so clearly that most people can’t relate or identify with what it means to be a good father. As I mentioned from the start we’d like to be amongst those who destroy those negative connotations and promote positive connotations. When we are good, we need to celebrate that we’re good. It’s time for fathers to rise out of the ashes of being bad dads. It is time for the good dads to rise up and be just that, seen as good dads.

“In the image of God created He them, male and female.” ^[1]

Just because our responses differ from that of our female counterparts doesn’t mean we’re wrong or not good. In fact, scripture says that God made mankind in His image. There are two models and both models are equal. God created you this way. Let me say this as clearly as I can, just because your response isn’t like that of mom doesn’t make it wrong. In fact, the only reason a dad’s response may seem out of place or not good enough is because most dads don’t respond often enough. Let me say this, we have only one goal and that’s to take you to the next level. With that said, it’s time for you dad to respond more. Be confident in the fact that being a dad is good enough. Now be the best dad you can be. Take being a dad, a father, to the next level. I want it to be said that when Tamia and our boys speak of me as a dad, when Torey Jr. speaks of me as ‘pop-pop’ and Skylar speaks of me as ‘uncle pop-pop’ that it makes their friends jealous. I plan on taking this assignment as Father, Pop-pop and Uncle Pop-pop to the next level and so should you. You are the right man for the job, you’re their dad. Happy Father’s Day!

[1] ‭‭Genesis 5:2 KJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬, Bible.com, accessed June 17, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/1/GEN.5.2.KJV
All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.