How many times have you made a decision as a parent and wondered what your parents would think of it? Or have you made a decision based on how you think your parents would have made that decision?

One of our weakness as dads is our propensity to look over our shoulders. What will my parents think? What will the people at church think? What will the family at the next table at the restaurant think?

When our children are testing our patience, and they’re irritable, and disobedient, we cringe, wondering what others are thinking, wondering if they saw that.

And when we see them watching, we immediately think the worst. Will they think I’m a bad parent? Do they think my kids are incorrigible?

Dads, let me tell you a truth that you and I both need to hear and remember:

We are not parenting for others’ approval!

Did you catch that? We do not parent our kids so that our parents will approve, our friends and family will approve, our church will approve, or anyone else.

There are two reasons that we parent.

We parent for the good of our children

My role as a dad is to help my kids learn how to handle life successfully. My goal is to give them the tools and the resources they need to become mature, responsible adults, leading their own family successfully. That includes helping them build a foundation of faith, learning courtesy and respect, becoming productive members of society, and establishing the same legacy in their own families, to name just a few of my responsibilities.

We parent for the glory of God

Keeping my focus on Christ, and teaching my kids to do the same is also the reason I parent. The ultimate purpose for each one of us is to bring glory and honor to God with our lives. This includes my parenting, and teaching my kids to understand and do the same in their own lives.

These are hard sometimes. Let’s face it; it’s easier to look over our shoulder to see what someone else might be thinking than it is to look forward and upward.

But in order to be the best dads we can be, we must do just that.

So dads, keep your focus forward. And keep your focus heavenward.

Be deliberate, Dad!

Do you often wonder what others may be thinking about your parenting? What do you do to combat that in yourself? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.