As dads, you and I are being watched every minute of every day. Dads, our kids are examining every move we make, and they are soaking up information that will determine how they live their own lives. So it’s crucial that we strive to be, not only the best dads that we can be, but also men of integrity, character and conviction.
Not too long ago, I took my son with me to the store to grab a few things for the house. We needed a few things for some home repairs and other projects that needed some attention. Little did I know that a quick trip to the store would be a major event in our lives that day. This little trip taught my son a valuable lesson, and taught me one as well.
As we checked out, the cashier accidentally scanned one of our items twice, a light switch plate cover. When she removed the extra charge, she inadvertently removed both of them. We finished our purchase, paid for the items, and headed out the door.
When we got to the car, I took a look at the receipt, thinking something wasn’t right. Sure enough, we had not been charged for the light switch plate cover. As it stood, we were out the door with a fifty cent item that we didn’t pay for.
So I grabbed my son and we headed back inside. We went to the customer service counter, and explained out situation, and paid for the light switch plate cover.
As we headed back out to the car, my son asked me why we’d done that, after all, “It was only fifty cents, and we could have had it for free.”
All of a sudden, right there in the parking lot, I realized two things. I had the opportunity to explain how that would have been theft, and I had the chance to demonstrate integrity to my son.
Honestly, I didn’t even consider keeping the item for free. The right thing to do was to go back in and pay for it. But I also received a third insight that afternoon: my son was paying attention closely enough to see that I didn’t hesitate to do the right thing.
Here are a few reasons that we need to make godly decisions as dads:
Our kids are watching
I had no idea that this would make such an impact on my son. After a few moments of silence as we drove away, he told me that he thought that we did the right thing. That’s a pretty important lesson for a young man to learn.
Our kids will copy us
If I’d kept the light switch cover, and my son realized the circumstances, he would see me trying to rationalize the situation, and stealing the item. He would be much more likely to make similar justifications for his own behavior down the road.
Having integrity teaches our kids integrity
It took my son a few moments to process the situation, but when he finished, he understood the right thing to do much better than if I’d simply tried to explain integrity to him. My example modeled for him how to live rightly.
Having integrity honors God
One of the most important aspects of this entire situation is that God was honored in my life. Regardless of whether my son was with me or not, or anyone else, making the right decision shows that my life is centered on God and his way, not my way.
Do I always make the right decisions? Of course not. and I don’t tell you this to pat myself on the back and show you how great I am. I fail way too often to allow myself to get a big head about this. But I do know this: when my kids see me making good decisions, godly decisions, they are more likely to do the same in their life. Because they learn it better by seeing it in me than be hearing me talk about it.
In situations like this, modeling the proper behavior has much more of an impact than a conversation could have, most of the time.
So dads, make sure that you honor God with every decision that you make. Because, after all, your kids are watching you closely, and you need to show them that you actually walk the walk, and not just talk the talk.
Be deliberate, Dad!
What events have occurred in your life where you had the opportunity to model integrity to your kids? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.