Fathers and Father Figures in the Bible
Fatherhood and Family Values in the Old Testament:
- Polygamy
- Children from multiple wives not treated equally
"Father" Abraham
- Had a child with his wife's servant who he banished when he finally had a child (Isaac) with Sarah
- Tried to kill Isaac and said god made him do it
Isaac
- Turned out to be happy, well adjusted and a good father despite his difficult childhood
- Was the victim of a scam conducted by his wife and second born son jacob who tricked him into giving the right of inheritance to Jacob instead Esau
A Better Role Model
- Joseph
- Joseph symbolizes wisdom
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•Wisdom--Intuitive knowing; spiritual intuition...•Mental action based on the Christ Truth within...•Knowledge of worldly things, with the ability to use them.
Joseph Was a Stand Up Guy:
- A loyal and trustworthy friend to Mary
- As opposed to a narcissist
Father's Day Wisdom From Joseph:
•Free will works best when it is guided by our inner wisdom.
•Pause and consider more than one possibility because the universe always presents us with multiple possibilities at any given time.
•Wisdom is the power we use to rein in our ego driven impulses so we can discern between a true choice that we make versus a subconscious reaction driven by our conditioning.
•Loyalty, trust and friendship should be the foundation for all of our relationships.
•It's more important to do the right thing than to keep up appearances.
•Life isn't all about me, my stuff, the stuff I like, the stuff I don't like and what people think of me.