My wife is one of the fortunate ones who has a five-generation picture. There is something special about five generations of those who identify with the same family. I can imagine that for her great-grandmother (who was in the picture), the pictures are priceless, knowing that her life has impacted multiple generations after her. Undoubtedly, women play an important role in the generational impact, but fathers share in that impact.
So, how does a father's relationship affect future generations? A present father in the life of his young children has proven to have a strong impact on the health and development of those children as they grow. Additionally, the behavior modeled by the father in the family unit often becomes reenacted by the next generation. Thus, the present relationship of the father in the family affects the behavior in future generations.
What power lies in the hands of the father? Power to affect the health, development, and behavior for generations to come. What do you want your fifth generation to look like? Let's survey the land of our own fathering to see what we are working with.
For a post specifically on the father's impact on the health and development of the children, Click Here.
The Father's Relationship Affects Future Generations
It is true that we are often people of the moment, having a difficult time thinking past the week, day, hour, and sometimes minute. When we spend time in this environment, it becomes difficult to thrive and carry out our long-term vision plans because our long-term vision is so muddled by today's confusion.
This is true of the family; often, we are in crisis or response mode rather than thriving mode. Families have a hard time getting out of their relational poverty because all they have time for is putting out the fires. When you have mud up to your shoulders its hard to look up and out.
Can this vicious cycle be broken? Yes, a thousand times, YES! In an article entitled, Father Involvement and Father-Child Relationship Quality: An Intergenerational Perspective, they say,
It is noteworthy that age 1 involvement fully mediated the influence of PGF on father-child relationship quality in the next generation. Behaviors modeled by one generation seem to be reenacted by the next, setting the stage and creating relational trajectories for fathers to follow with their own children. These findings suggest that, if fathers can overcome inadequate or poor relationships with their own fathers to be involved in positive ways with their own children, then perhaps the intergenerational cycle of uninvolved fathering can be halted; however, it also appears that fathers are unlikely or unable to do so without intervention.
Wow! Read that again, particularly the underlined portion that I emphisesed. Can the toxic cycle be broken by fathers to deeply impact future generations? YES! Is it going to be hard? YES! Will you need help? YES! But can it be done? YES, YES, YES, YES!
*(If you need help bringing direction to a directionless home, schedule a free fifteen-minute consultation with me, TravisDean-Maxey, HERE.)
Most families are on a trajectory that will lead them nowhere after the first generation, let alone by the fifth. The overwhelming evidence of this is seen in our culture, just listen to the news, open your eyes at the store, listen to the entertainment being produced. Most of it lacks values and direction. Promoting a selfish, feel-good environment that is void of vision. This ship is headed for the rocks unless "you," the father, take responsibility and start modeling and instructing the life that you want your great-great-great grandchildren to live!
This requires a deep-seated conviction that something needs to be done, a long-term vision of where you are going, a daily mission of how to get there, and then grit and tenacity to die to yourself and grind to make it happen.
The Derelict Father
Culturally, because we have the wrong view of a father, we say a derelict father is one who is physically absent. (For the right view of a father see, What is a Father?). This is correct; a derelict father is one who is absent. But the extent of the absence matters. A father is derelict when he is not present physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
If this is true, then nearly every father is derelict. I hear the objections to this statement now; they are all excuses. I'm not here to coddle you and tell you that everything is going great when it's not. I'm here to expose the truth. Unless you are presently, actively, and intentionally leading your family physically, emotionally, and spiritually, then you are derelict. You are shrinking your duties as a father and will pay the penalty in time.
I don't want this for you! Consider this your siren, warning you to turn around and become a REAL Father! A father whose present relationship with his family affects the behavior of future generations in a way that adds to your vision and values.
Be a REAL Father
A father is a man who lovingly invests in his children, instructing them toward maturity at every stage of life. This means that you invest in your family today for generational impact tomorrow. To do this, you have to put out the fires and also invest in the family's future vision. There is no time for Netflix or Facebook scrolling. You have to put those childish things away for the benefit of your grandchildren! What we focus on matters. Be a father who desires a generational impact on the world by being diligently present with your family today.
Conclusion
Statistics show that a father's intentional presence in a home deeply impacts the physical, emotional, and spiritual development and health of the children. But it is so much more than that! The father's intentional impact on a family can change the course of generations that are yet to be. We see now the negative impact of a fatherless culture, so let's change the course of tomorrow by being intentional fathers today! How far are you currently in your journey as a father from being the one you want your sons to emulate and your daughters to marry? That's a big question with enormous consequences! How much will your current state of fatherhood cost your family in the long run?
Related Questions
What impact do fathers have on the family? The father has a significant impact on the family's culture. Culture comprises vision and values, both of which the father is responsible for being the model figure. Through the father's intentional activity in the family, the family becomes healthier and better developed. The health and development of the family can, if intentional, lead to a multigenerational ripple that impacts future grandchildren and the world.
What Are the Father’s Responsibilities? Fathers have a duty to their families; this is responsibility. As with any responsibility, the family must be well-stewarded. The father stewards his family well when he actively invests in his family, leading them toward the family's shared vision and value system. He moves the family through his model: his actions lining up with his speech or his values lining up with his vision. Thus, the father's responsibility is to lead his family toward a shared vision and values as he fulfills his role as protector, provider, and disciplinarian.
What is the Father's Role in the Family? This question echoes across cultures, with a remarkably consistent answer. In nearly every society, the father's role is defined by three primary tasks: protector, provider, and disciplinarian. These tasks encapsulate the essence of a father- "A man who lovingly invests in his children, instructing them towards maturity at every stage of life." The family is a living, breathing unit, and the father's role is to nurture and sustain it, ensuring its productivity and longevity.
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