As a father our parenting decisions are made for the benefit of our children, and our focus is toward raising resilient children well prepared to face life. Before long the children we now hold in our arms will become the next generation that will occupy the position we now hold as an adult. Their lives will become empowered as an adult to shape their world as they see fit, and therefore the next generation is always the most important generation.
The history of mankind on the earth is like a relay race of life where one generation must pass on the baton to the next generation running. As fathers it is our responsibility to ensure that they receive the baton in a better position than we did from the previous generation.
It is helpful as a parent and important as a father to understand our own generation first and how we have run our race, that we may be better prepared to assist our children in running theirs. To understand how our generation has run we need to be aware of those elements that strengthen society and be able to avoid those that weaken it.
Society as a whole is built upon community or common unity, where all members play an active part in improving life for the benefit of all in that society. Each person has a role to play according to the gifts and abilities they have received in life, and as they use them for the benefit of all members of the society all are enriched.
Every society has laws and regulations placed there to protect the rights of its members and to ensure that unruly elements are weeded out as soon as possible to minimise their negative input. We all know some of the basic laws on which western society is based upon: Don’t murder anyone, Don’t steal anything, Don’t tell lies etc. and it’s these laws and rules that keep us all safe as a society from those who have evil in their hearts and would take advantage of those weaker than themselves.
The family unit is the foundation and the building block for every successful society or community, and it is within the family unit that we find the strength and stability of all society.
How we treat each other in our own family is a foundation for how we will treat others within the wider community, which when multiplied by many thousands of families will ultimately affect our entire generation.
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