The family as God defines it is under siege in our country. The intellectual elite in our country are achieving this through entertainment, education and government efforts. From the redefining of marriage, reversing the roles within marriage and family, to zero tolerance which eliminates the ability to discern and not question authority. These battles are reported daily and will bother those who have not already surrendered to the pressure. The whole situation was summed up best by MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry, when a couple of years ago in a TV promo spot, urged us to rid ourselves of the idea that kids belong to their parents or to "private" families. We need to replace it with the "collective" notion of children: "Kids belong to whole communities." Remember the phrase "it takes a village?" Benito Mussolini stated it very well when he said, "All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state." In order to achieve this, the family must be redefined and changed from God's design.
God created and designed the home in the beginning as we are told by Jesus in Mark 10:6-9, "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." God defined and created marriage and anything not meeting that definition is not valid. Marriage serves as the foundation of the home. Marriage is monogamic (one husband, one wife) in form (1 Corinthians 7:2). It is procreative in design (Genesis 1:28) but as described in 1 Corinthians 7:2 it is also for avoiding fornication. Finally, it is indissoluble in nature since we are told in 1 Corinthians 7:39, "The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord."
Marriage is the foundation in which families are formed and children are raised. As such, God has identified the responsibilities of parents. It is the father's responsibility for child training, for it states in Ephesians 6:4, "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." The training is not the responsibility of the church nor government; it is the father's. Parents are to train the child for the important things (Proverbs 22:6). That training includes setting the proper example (Mathew 5:16) by letting our light shine. Children, in turn, are told in Ephesians 6:1-3, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth."
Examine your family. Are you fulfilling these requirements? Does your family have a husband and wife showing their love one toward another? Is your family bringing up the children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Is a godly example being set by each reasonable member? Is the golden rule being practiced in your family? By this I do not mean he who has the gold rules, which is too often the case. Finally, does God have first place in your family? We would do well to remember Jesus asking us in Matthew 16:26, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole word, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" It would be meaningless to let the family be taken by the world and lose their souls.
Charles Royal, Decatur, AL