Leaning life skills is critical.
And what dad won’t find the time to teach his son competency in that respect?
After all, the School of Hard Knocks has limited enrollment and the dropout rate is high, so there’s no better way to achieve that goal than for a father to demonstrate the idea of Biblical masculinity to him.
To some extent, that’s accomplished by participating in competitive activities such as sports. Many young men learn a lot of positive life lessons in that arena: self-discipline, perseverance, the value of team effort, respect for others, etc.
But the world doesn’t need anymore dads to be football coaches.
More than anything, it needs faithful men [1] who are themselves trained up in the truth of the Lord’s good news about His kingdom [2] and what the text of His word actually says. It needs spiritual mentors [3] who can teach young men to develop skills to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fathers today can’t rely merely upon “Divine Providence” to supply their sons the necessary information to become faithful disciples for Jesus. “Religion” can’t just become one more box [4] to check in that process.
There’s a priceless pearl to share from one generation to the next. I can’t accomplish that effectively without learning what it actually is [5]. It’s a message of incalculable worth which isn’t normally communicated persuasively en masse.
But Timothy apparently had ears to hear:
“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” [the words of the apostle Paul to his “beloved child,” Timothy; 2Tim. 2:2]