So far in this series, we’ve focused on exercising superpowers and healing past wounds.
Now, let’s examine how fathers, like superheroes, must fight supervillains.
Most supervillains are interested in money, power, and world domination.
Lex Luthor is a genius billionaire.
The Joker is criminally insane.
The Kingpin is a mob boss.
Here a few supervillains that fathers must fight:
The supervillain of Busy-ness.
Let’s face it: fathers have many responsibilities.
We have jobs, yard work, bills to pay, kids to drive around, games to watch, and people to see.
We can be so busy that we don’t have quality time for our kids.
We can nullify this with the superpower of generosity.
We can be generous with our time, noticing our children, talking to them, listening to them, teaching them, challenging them, and simply being with them.
The supervillain of Angry Cop.
This guy goes around pointing out everyone’s faults.
He completely loses it when someone does something wrong.
He acts righteous, but he has a short fuse and he’s not terribly helpful.
We can nullify this with the superpower of compassion.
We must recognize that our kids are struggling and that bad behavior is a sign of something wrong.
Compassion doesn’t mean we agree with bad choices, but that we can understand how a person got there.
We can help rather than criticize.
The supervillain of Irritability.
Usually, this villain shows up when we are frustrated with ourselves and we’re not coping very well.
Our disillusionment and depression manifests as grumpiness, crankiness, and irritability.
Nothing makes us happy or satisfies us.
Irritability is the kryptonite to super-affirmation, as it robs us of seeing the good in others.
There are several antidotes to this problem.
One important superpower that counters irritability is super-gratitude.
When we try to appreciate all the good things in our lives, especially our children, then we can stop this negativity in its tracks.
We may also revisit healing our wounds as we recognize our own pain.
We may need some self-care: physical exercise, a relaxing break, or some positive adult social time.
When we return recharged to our children, we’ll have a spirit of gratitude and joy.
The supervillain of Judgment.
This villain sometimes shows up when we compare our kids or this generation to an imagined gold standard of the past.
This can also show up if we compare our kids’ accomplishments to our own accomplishments, or if we compare our kids’ accomplishments to the things we wish we had accomplished.
Comparisons are most often unhelpful.
Children are not products, but persons.
We need to see them as unique individuals in our care, created by God.
This is the superpower of acceptance.
When we acknowledge that our children are not to be made into our image, then we can truly appreciate them and affirm what God has made in them.
Discuss with the Lord today which of these supervillains you encounter most often.
Then give the Lord the space to bless you with both a greater sense of self-awareness and with the positive virtue you need to help you keep this villain away from your family.
