As a Husband and a Father I feel I have three major obligations to provide, preside and protect my family.
1. Providing: means that my wife and kids have their basic needs such as food and shelter. As a provider it, to me, it also means that I give them what they need to have their best opportunity to succeed. It does NOT mean I give them everything they want, “spoil” them, or create circumstances that expects less than maximum effort, and hard work.
2. Presiding: To “preside” over my family means to me, that I will teach them truths, correct principles, virtue. Teach them to seek things that are lovely, of good report or praiseworthy and all other things that bring happiness.
3. Protect: Protection is an unavoidable responsibility of every parent from the lion and it’s cubs to the mother and her child. There are many threats such as physical harm, mental harm (drugs, verbal abuse), spiritual threats that comes from bad decisions that that can bring unhappiness and eternal suffering. My responsibility is to be ready for physical threats by practicing Mixed Martial Arts, Krav Maga, etc. and teach them the same skills. Protect from mental harm by teaching mental toughness, being a good example and teaching them to avoid mentally harmful situations (not the same as mentally challenging situations which are good). Finally teaching to avoid spiritual threats by learning values and appropriate decision making largely by my example.