What is the role of a father in his family?

1 Timothy 5:8Those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.

A father should provide for his family, which includes his aging parents.

Genesis 37:3-4Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

A father should love all his children impartially; he should not play favorites.

1 Samuel 3:13“I [the Lord] have warned him [Eli] that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them.”

Ephesians 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Colossians 3:21Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.

A father should discipline and instruct his children with love and wisdom.