Being a father means protecting his family, not only from physical dangers, but also mental and spiritual dangers. That is, fathers should keep the wrong influences from entering the home and into the family’s lives.

In this feminized society, too often, the man has largely, or even completely, abdicated his towering responsibility within his home. In how many families do the wife and children respond favorably to the man’s direction? Do they try to help make his decisions work? Answering those questions can require tough honesty.

Leading a family is difficult. It requires self-sacrifice and sometimes making unpopular decisions, but the long-term benefits are incomparable.

Children need, and actually crave, strong fatherly leadership. There is simply no substitute for the head of the household providing a strong example of righteousness for the family to follow. As the primary law-enforcer for the family, the father commands respect and reverence.

All the elements of the father role are manifestations of love for the family: protection, provision, leadership, education and correction. Those roles require sacrificial love.

I believe that daughters learn from their fathers how to relate to men; how to be trusting within a close, heterosexual relationship. They learn to appreciate their own femininity. They learn that they are worthy of a man’s love by loving and being loved by their fathers.

Fathers need to teach their daughters that they are worthy of being loved, cherished and treated with tender, selfless devotion.

Robert Roy, Auburn