Be a man of integrity and spirituality

It’s important to remember that we cannot simply pretend to be spiritual for our families’ sake; we must genuinely follow the Lord. Of course, it’s OK for our families to see our weaknesses, but leading a family means we must personally be devoted to God.

With that in mind, let’s look at the example of an unexpectedly inspiring figure for fathers: Job.

Job was a real person, referred to in Ezekiel 14:14 as a person of “righteousness.” Job 1:1 says that Job “was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”

“Blameless” and “upright” go together in the Hebrew text as two sides of the same coin. The first means to be “complete, entire, lacking nothing”; the second means “standing straight,” unwilling to compromise morally.

Taken together, they lead to our first key to being a great father: integrity

There’s nothing worse than when the inside and the outside don’t agree. Our children see this immediately. We can lead them no further than we are. If we want them to be people of integrity, we must be men of integrity.

Our text also says of Job that he “feared God and turned away from evil.” To “fear God” is to reverence him, to respect him with awe and submission. To “turn away from evil” is to refuse it every time, in every situation.

Together, these words hold another important factor: spirituality.

Genuine spirituality requires both commitments. If I fear and revere God, I will refuse sin. To have his power to refuse sin, I must revere and fear him.

Integrity and spirituality are both essential to great fatherhood. Many fathers live with personal integrity but without deep spirituality. Others are very spiritual on Sunday but demonstrate less integrity on Monday. We must have both to be the best fathers we can be.

It’s been said, “Until a boy is fifteen, he does what his father says; after that, he does what his father does.”

We’ve discussed Job’s personal life; now, let’s look at his family and property.

“He had seven sons and three daughters, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was indeed the greatest man in the East” (Job 1:2–3).

For many fathers, this would be enough. So long as we provide for our families financially, we think we’ve done all we need to do. But this is not true.

For now, reflect on your own spiritual walk:

Do you need to rededicate your life to the Lord?

Are living in integrity, or just putting on a show?

Ask the Lord to lead you closer to him.

Next, we’ll talk more about how Job led his family.