Family

---

I have been in social work for a year now and have worked with hundreds of families. I have seen my fair share of difficult families as well as terrible circumstances. I have seen a kid who was physically abused by family members take it out on his mother. I've seen broken children abandoned as a result of their mother's selfish choices, leaving the kids wondering and waiting. I have dealt with teens who were both sexually abused and the abuser. I've worked with young teenagers already locked up and gone through drug rehab. I see anger, apathy, selfishness and lack of respect in nearly every situation, family and individual I work with. Through my short time in social work, I've noticed a trend, a trend quickly becoming the norm. And it is the most frustrating, upsetting, unsettling and scary truth which will destroy this generation, unless something changes.

Over my year in social work, I have worked with over 200 individuals and roughly 100 families. Of all the families I've worked with, only one family has had the father at home, doing his part. ONLY ONE! Most families and individuals involved with "the state" are because of reasons such as abuse, legal trouble, poor living conditions, drug use and selfish choices. The one family with dad at home was a case because they could not keep their house clean. Not minimizing cleanliness, but, given other situations, this seemed miniscule.

The trend I see is the lack of a true father figure. The scariest part about the trend is this: it has become the norm and is creating a terribly vicious cycle. Whenever I initiate a conversation with my clients, the first questions and topics revert back to this question: "Where is dad?". These are the answers I hear, "Dad bailed on us", "I have never met my dad", "he is in prison", or "my parents are divorced". I am in no way saying that if your dad is not around or your parents are divorced that your life will take a dramatic turn for the worst and you will end up being a case of the state. Not at all what I am saying. However, the trend shows that families without the father and mother working together to run the house puts the family at an incredible disadvantage emotionally, financially and physically. Broken homes and broken families are creating a broken and lost generation of children, youth and parents.

A culture is being established in the new families today, and it shows that growing up without a dad is standard. This puts mom at an incredible disadvantage and gives the children a terrifying family model they learn! The role of the mother is vital to raising a child, same goes for the father. A mom cannot flourish as a parent without the loving role of the father, and vice versa.

What am I getting at? I am terrified of the direction of the western culture. I can grumble and complain about all the trouble these kids are causing and the amount of money being spent, but that is not the root of the issue. The root of the issue is the lack of the father. I read this incredible book called "Father Fiction" by Donald Miller. He shares what it was like for him to grow up without a father. The book was thought provoking and sad to see the questions that were unanswered because his father was not there. Think about all the children and youth out there with questions for dad, but cannot ask him because he is not there. What a confusing situation for them! His mom did what she could, but without dad, there was a void in his life. I believe that unless something drastic changes with the men in this culture, we will continue to be a fatherless generation.

I will not let that happen. My dad died when I was young and had a lot of confusion about life. My mom was incredible and amazing, but there were some things that could not be said and done with mom like they could with dad. The time is now for men to step up every where and become the father so many need and desire. With God as our Father, we need to change the culture and be men to the ones who do not have a father. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. There is plenty of work, but more quality men are needed for the harvest.

God is good and there is now a tremendous platform for men to show God's love. Step up, step in, get your hands dirty, do the work of the father, and be a father to the fatherless.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR