From today’s key passage, we learn that Eli was one of those dads who didn’t have a backbone. He saw his sons doing things he knew were wrong, things that were harmful to them and destructive to the nation, but he could not and would not tell his boys “No.” He preferred to avoid conflict with them and would not discipline them, which seems to have been the reason for their downfall. Eli made his two sons priests even though they lacked their father’s character, and as a consequence, their conduct disgraced the family and shocked the nation. Their behavior did not reflect the values, the virtues, and the vision of men of God. God eventually gets fed up with their foolishness, and we learn that from God’s perspective, He holds their dad responsible. It is from this section of Scripture we learn here how to identify the characteristics of a man who is on daddy duty, whether that man is a biological father, surrogate father, or a spiritual father.