As a father one of our main aims is to provide a better future for our children, a better life than we ourselves ever had. We need to use great wisdom in laying the foundations of this ‘better life’, lest it collapse like a house of cards, and our children find themselves in a worse rather than better situation. The foundations of any house are where its strength and stability are found, and if it is built securely it will last for many generations.
In our modern age there are many different parenting styles promoted in the media as the latest and greatest parenting guide for dads to be or those who have just become a new dad. The foundations of those courses are often built merely on what's 'trending' rather than on proven parenting methods that really work and will stand the test of time.
Past Mistakes
Back in the 1950’s there was a new wonder drug released and marketed as a ‘cure’ for anxiety, insomnia, gastritis and tension which became available to the public ‘over the counter’ at the local pharmacy. The same drug was later used to combat nausea and specifically ‘morning sickness’ in pregnant women, that drug is now better known as ‘Thalidomide’.
As a result of using ‘Thalidomide’ across the world it is estimated that 10,000 children were born with severe deformities of limbs and some internal organs, of these 10,000 only about 50% survived and the remainder had to endure a life of terrible struggle emotionally as well as physically. The drug was heralded as ‘a great scientific breakthrough’ but became a modern tragedy.
Modern Advances
Since the advent of computers there have been many technological advances in a relatively short span of time, although not all these advances may ultimately prove beneficial to our society. The ‘Internet’ or ‘World Wide Web’ as it is also called has been one of the greatest advances in history and affects an incredible amount of our modern lives.
In one generation we have gone from the proverbial ‘Abacus’ to the ‘Pentium’, from the ‘Model T Ford’ to the ‘Maserati’, and without it you would not be reading this teaching today. But the same ‘Internet’ that allows us to access copious amounts of useful information at the touch of a button, also enables the world-wide propagation of pornography and the sexual slavery that this ‘industry’ is built upon.
The Test of Time
Advances and breakthroughs need to be measured by several factors before we can accurately assess whether they have been beneficial to our society. Often the long-term results of any new ‘advance’ are not measurable until 20-30 years after it is released in society and if there are detrimental effects they may remain ‘hidden’ for a time. Sometimes we must weigh up the benefits of an ‘advance’ against the disadvantages it offers, and this is most accurately done in hindsight.
We are now beginning to realise that often ‘technological advances’ are the catalysts that bring about ‘social change’. Social change is not to be feared especially if it improves the long-term well-being of the members of the society, but we would be naive indeed if we assumed that all changes are beneficial. There is a growing level of awareness that rather than improving life for the individual, many of our advances in technology are increasing social alienation and decreasing social interaction.
We live in a generation that has more technology than ever experienced previously in history, and yet we as individuals are not happier for it. The deeper human interactions we hoped would come from the internet have not resulted, but instead have produced in many an increased feeling of isolation. Rather than looking into each other’s eyes and communicating on a personal level, our children walk around with ‘headphones’ on or looking down constantly at their ‘smart phones’.
Building with Wisdom
As a father it is our responsibility to look closely at any areas that could potentially prove detrimental to our family and take appropriate action to remedy the situation. If we see a crack in the foundation of our house we need to consider wisely what caused the breach and how best we can fix it, so it doesn’t collapse upon our loved ones. Whether it’s the ever-increasing reliance upon ‘technology’ or the advertisements telling us we need to purchase a new ‘wonder drug’, we as fathers need wisdom to decide what we allow into our family environment if we are to protect our children’s future.
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