“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” – Malachi 4:6
Above is the very last note of the entire old testament of the Bible. Needless to say how significant it is to God, and much more to us:
The state of the earth today depends on the hearts of the fathers, not the acts of the politicians.
If our world is blessed or cursed today, the fathers are the cause.
As goes the father, so goes the children.
The quality of relationship between the father and his children is the difference between a blessed and a cursed family.
The greatest achievement of a preacher is to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children. (That’s why I’m here) The irrefutable fact of life is that a man’s heart dwells where his treasure is. So, if children are seen as treasures, the father’s heart will naturally be with them. But the shocking reality is that the fathers unconsciously see their children as PRESSURES, not TREASURES.
Children are seen as the basis for their worries, the reason for their endless sweat, determinant of their worth, the measure of their importance and achievements, the gauge for their pride and ego, and the push for their strivings and competitions. Just as food could sometimes be seen as a punishment to the woman in the kitchen but a nourishment to the man in the living room, children are treasures to most mothers but unconsciously and unfortunately a pressure to most fathers.
To the fathers, money is the treasure while the children are the pressure that needs the money. So their hearts dwell on the treasure (money) but occasionally goes to the pressure (children).
God wants the equation reversed. He wants the father’s heart to dwell on his children, so as to achieve a curse free family and society.
How would our children have our hearts and vice versal?
The way into the heart is the ear (hEARt)
Give them your ears. It might not be easy because you’re busy, but it will be worth it.
Listen, listen and listen. Hear them out so that you wouldn’t need to “bail” them out. You will soon make sense out of their “nonsense”, Just Listen.
You’ve done very well feeding them. Now, start feeling them.
You’ve always been paying bills. Now, pay attention.
They’ve always felt your purse. Now, let them feel your pulse.
“Every child needs his/her father to go far in life. Without his feathers they’re not covered”.
•Oluseye TAIWO.
