Children Need A Father

by Heath Rogers

Actress Jennifer Aniston has come under fire for comments that she has recently made in which she dismissed the need of fathers in having and raising children.

Aniston is reported to have said that “times have changed” when it comes to thinking about the traditional family. She went on to say, “Women are realizing more and more that you don’t have to settle. They don’t have to fiddle with a man to have that child.” These comments were made as Aniston was promoting her new movie titled “The Switch,” a romantic comedy about a woman who gets pregnant using a sperm donor.

While Aniston may claim that men are not necessary for the woman who wants to have children, God’s will as set forth in the Bible says differently.

God placed the father in the lives of children for a reason. He has charged the father with the duty of providing for the physical needs of the family. “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:8). However, fathers provide more than a paycheck. They are to be involved in the raising of the children. “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4; see also Deut. 6:6-7). Regardless of whether or not a woman wants to “fiddle with a man,” the child that she has will need a father.

If anyone would have been in a position to raise a child without a man it would have been Mary, the mother of the Lord. Her Child was conceived without a man, but theBible shows that God did not allow His Son to be raised without a father.

Mary was betrothed to a man named Joseph when she became pregnant. When Joseph discovered that Mary was with child, he sought to put her away privately. “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. . . .’ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus” (Matt. 1:20-21, 24-25).

You see, even Jesus needed a father as He was growing up, and God made sure that He had one.

The Bible acknowledges the reality of single parent homes. At times, misfortune arises and a loving father is taken away from his children through an untimely death. More often, sin and selfishness result in abandonment and a child is left to be raised by his mother. Such situations are manageable, but they are extremely difficult. Why would a young woman willingly choose to disregard God’s will and take on the task of raising a child on her own?

Aniston and her fellow actors need to stick to what they know – reading scripts and making movies. Times may have changed, but the needs of children have not changed. God knew what He was doing when He placed both mothers and fathers in the home.

Truth Magazine November 2010