Christian Onyia, the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Nike in Enugu State, has urged married men to prioritise their families’ welfare and care.

Mr Onyia, in a homily he delivered at St. Luke The Physician Specialist Hospital, Trans-Ekulu in Enugu, urged the men to stop keeping concubines and return to their families.

“Have you lost it, and you have started staying and keeping concubines outside the home; it is time to return and reconcile with your immediate family, which should be your top priority,” he said.

He urged fathers to rise and take their rightful place as both the administrative and spiritual heads of their homes and “provide needed fatherly love and direction to every home.”

“Fathers must lead their families with love and understanding; while shunning all forms of hatred, wickedness and lack of forgiveness.

“Today, you must go home and reconcile with your family members; while dropping your ego or holding up to wrongs individuals in the family did to you previously,” he said.

The bishop said men were rejected or abandoned in old age because they had treated their family members with neglect and lack of forgiveness for a long.

“When the man needs the family members the most when his strength cannot carry him again, they are nowhere to be found.

“So, there is the need for reconciliation and accommodation of all family members notwithstanding differences and challenges within the family,” he urged.

Mr Onyia urged fathers to draw near to God for spiritual strength to carry their numerous challenges and triumph over all.

He advised fathers to take good care of their health, commit their health to God’s hands, and “take issues easy but maturely within their families.”

(NAN)