Fathers and Finances

 Before diving into fathers and finance, we need to understand that positive influence from fathers comes when he and his wife are in unity and one accord. Fathers have to understand that if they don’t address anger correctly, they will end up being overcome with that anger. The reality is that they are not fighting against flesh and blood but principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Knowing that they are fighting against the devil and not with each other, helps couples channel their energy to strengthen each other and fight against the adversary. Fathers have a very crucial role in inspiring their children to become great citizens, they need to be role models for their children to shape them for the future. “Without dads as role models, boys’ testosterone is not well channeled,” wrote author Warren Farrell at USA TODAY. “The boy experiences a sense of purposelessness, a lack of boundary enforcement, rudderlessness, and often withdraws into video games and video porn. At worst, when boys’ testosterone is not well-channeled by an involved dad, boys become among the world’s most destructive forces. When boys’ testosterone is well channeled by an involved dad, boys become among the world’s most constructive forces.” The question always comes back to fathers, how does their influence in the home affect the family as a whole, especially their children. Fathers are very important in the home just like mothers. Fathers’ role is to preside, provide, and protect. In our modern world, fathers are said to be unnecessary, unimportant in the family. Initially, during Adam and Eve`s time, the time of work available was a family farm and business. Both the fathers and mothers helped each other in the business and farm. Working in the family was a family-building, bonding opportunity. The simplicity of family work enables families to strengthen relationships. Work tends to be cooperative and beneficial for the growth of the family. When everyone works together, there is a reduction in contention and increases unity between families. One other important thing is coordinating as a family, this helps increase the comrade amongst the family members. It was only during the industrial revolution that this changed. The fathers become more unavailable in the home because of changes in workplaces. Instead of bringing families together, the industrial revolution broke families apart as mothers stayed at home and fathers went to work. Over time this reduces the time the whole family spends together and reduces the bond in the family. Shifting focus on the role of fathers in the family. One expectation from the fathers is that they are financial providers. This expectation can cause contention in the home because of who manages money. Marvin J Ashton mentioned that the American Bar Association recently indicated that 89 percent of all divorces could be traced to quarrels and accusations over money. Others have estimated that 75 percent of all divorces result from clashes over finances. Some professional counselors indicated that four out of five families are strapped with serious money problems. These numbers are concerning because it seems like finances are a huge problem in the family. The mismanagement of personal finance is the cause of these marriage tragedies. He further gave some points on how to improve financial management. He mentioned the importance of teaching family members early the importance of working and earnings, teaching each family member to contribute to the total family welfare, teaching family members that paying financial obligations promptly is part of integrity and honesty development, learning to manage money before it manages you, learn self-discipline and self-restraint in money matters, use a budget, involve yourself in food storage program. These principles bring balance to the family and increase healthy family relationships. Fathers can be the breadwinner, but the whole family is responsible for the overall success of the family.