Eleven Ways to Be a Good Father, Grandfather, or Male Mentor 

By Dwight Rodgers 

1. Read to your children. A child who doesn’t learn to love to read will not love to read God’s Word and will be robbed of joy, perspective, and power. 

2. Turn off the television. Television and social media time should be allowed sparingly and wisely. 

3. Teach your children to be grateful. Do all you can to deliver them from the entitlement mentality poisoning our culture that says, “I deserve this,” and “That’s not fair,” and “It’s mine, not yours.” Teach them not to be whiners. Teach them to say “thank you!” Teach them that money is earned; it does not appear out of nowhere. To teach them all of this, of course, requires one primary factor: that we ourselves are grateful, not whiners, and are quick to say “thank you.” 

4. Teach your children to confess and repent by modeling confessing and repenting in their presence. Admit when you are wrong. Say “I am sorry. Please forgive me.” That posture may teach them more than you think. Grandfathers, maybe you have regrets about not having been the best father. Say “I’m sorry” to your grown kids and ask God to help you be the best grandfather you can be. 

5. Give generously and involve your children in giving. God’s grace is all about giving (Psalm 37:26 and Acts 20:35). 

6. Balance well what is urgent and what is important. 

7. Remember your reason for living is to glorify God and pass on an inheritance of bold, deep faith. 

8. Give your children what they need. There is a time to give kids what they want, but be careful. What they want is often not in their best interests. Teach them the discipline of saying no to themselves by saying no to them. 

9. Never give up on them. For those whose hearts have been broken by their child’s rebellion, know that no matter how difficult their struggle is, as long as they are alive, God can change their hearts. 

10. Pray for your children. 

11. Realize that it takes only money to leave your children an inheritance, but it takes spiritual discipline along with obedience to leave them a true heritage. 

GOD bless you, and Happy Father’s Day! 

About the Author

Rev. Dwight Rodgers is an associate pastor at The Chapel in Trinity, Florida. A consistent and passionate leader, Dwight and his wife of over forty years, Jeanne, are a vibrant pastoral team that work together to encourage and equip people to follow hard after God.