In the morally challenged society of His day, Jesus taught His followers to conduct themselves righteously as they lived and worked among those around them, maintaining moral purity as they awaited His return to affect real, lasting moral renewal. Their cause was to support a proclamation of good news—of the time when His government would bring the change desperately needed by a society in bondage to moral decay. (Matthew 24:14).
Their responsibility was, as His was, not to make a political stand but a moral one. With the aid of His precepts, they were to navigate the difficult waters of the moral challenges they and their families would face, while living in a society that often opposed godly values. The responsibility rests upon individual believers.
We, as individuals, must accept
our personal responsibilityfor our own families!
What are we talking about anyway? What are common traits of a healthy and wholesome family? Psychologist Dolores Curran conducted a survey of 551 professionals who are involved with family matters and she came up with the following fifteen common traits of families who tend to be happy and harmonious:
The Healthy Family:
1. Communicates and listens
2. Affirms and supports one another
3. Teaches respect for others
4. Develops a sense of trust
5. Has a sense of play and humor
6. Exhibits a sense of shared responsibility
7. Teaches a sense of right and wrong
8. Has a strong sense of family in which rituals and traditions abound
9. Has a balance of interaction among members
10. Has a shared religious core
11. Respects the privacy of one another
12. Values service to others
13 Fosters family table time and conversation
14. Shares leisure time
15. Admits to and seeks help with problems. 5
1. Communicates and listens
2. Affirms and supports one another
3. Teaches respect for others
4. Develops a sense of trust
5. Has a sense of play and humor
6. Exhibits a sense of shared responsibility
7. Teaches a sense of right and wrong
8. Has a strong sense of family in which rituals and traditions abound
9. Has a balance of interaction among members
10. Has a shared religious core
11. Respects the privacy of one another
12. Values service to others
13 Fosters family table time and conversation
14. Shares leisure time
15. Admits to and seeks help with problems. 5
If these are the target areas that seem to be the goal of successful parenting, how does one get the training? God has uniquely gifted the believer to lead the family by example. There is no reason why the family should not be super-successful in every area and in all ways. There are plenty of reasons why we can begin to restore our values to Godly standards. These standards will allow the family to truly be happy, healthy, and harmonious. Even though meeting the needs of the family may seem like a balancing act at times, the Lord has filled His believers with the power and the potential to accomplish it.
We just need to learn to Apply, and Exemplify,
so we can Amplify the “fruit flavored family”.
The Apostle Paul spoke of this truth when he wrote in
Galatians 5:22-23:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”
I agree that these goals are attainable and achievable for every Christian family that puts their wholehearted trust in God to guide and direct their steps. I'm not a parent yet but as an enaged lady, I believe all of these values must start with the couple before ever becoming parents!
ReplyDeleteMy mother always says that people are products of their environment. The older I get, the more I understand what she means. Children learn from their parents. If a couple is not respecting, listening, or spending time with each other, most likely children are impacted.
Harry Jackson and Tony Perkins, authors of Personal Faith Public Policy, write “As the father goes, so goes the family, and as families go, so goes the nation. Therefore, if fathers are strengthened, the family and country are strengthened." In other words, it’s clear that many of the social problems stem from family dysfunction such as poverty, teen sex, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, drug abuse/alcoholism, absentee fathers.
We must restore our familes and Jesus is the BEST and ONLY example to model our families after!
As it was pointed out, “Jesus taught His followers to conduct themselves righteously as they lived and worked among those around them,” and “their responsibility was, as His was, not to make a political stand but a moral one.” I believe that same responsibility holds true even today. We too, as followers and believers of Jesus Christ should take a stand for Him, which in fact would be a moral one. By all means, our families should have the LORD as the foundation upon which we build our family life and have guidelines by which we would make our decisions and handle our difficulties.
ReplyDeleteI believe a family with God as its foundation will not only be one that is solid and stable but loving as well. A family is very much in need of structure. I agree as it has been stated, “We, as individuals, must accept our personal responsibility for our own families!”
Most definitely a happy family menu would include: communication, support, respect, trust, fun, responsibility, a sense of right and wrong, family tradition, a religious core (Jesus), respect, serve others, family time, leisure time, admit your problems then seek help as needed. Everyone, including children have a part in building a healthy family life. In other words, parents and children, all have responsibilities in a family.
"GwenJ"
Dear Pastor Garry & Cheryl:
ReplyDeleteThe family unit and its healthy survival is a major key to the moral fiber of the world changing for the better. God in His infinite wisdom gave instruction to the believer on how to act to please Him and in this Godly behavior He develops our character to be more like Him.
Once two individuals that are equally yoke become one unit in marriage they instill these values and principles in the lives of their children. The world’s moral fiber is only as strong as the Christian family unit.
In the marital relationship the spouses display agape love, God’s love at work in their individual hearts coming together to operate as one loving unit representing Him. Next is Phila love or friends helps the children in that home have and see what a healthy and wholesome friendship between a man and woman looks like and hopefully they will not settle for less.
Eros the romantic love between the husband and wife provides joy and harmony and the evidence that God has indeed approved of sexual love within the bonds of marriage. The healthy expressions of public affection give the children a strong sense of being love and secured in the oneness of the mother and father’s love for each other.
Finally there’s Storge’ family commitment love the stabilizing fiber for the family unit. The mother and father are committed to the success of having a healthy family. Blend it all together you have a unit knitted together by love, commitment, joy, laughter, security, emotionally and spiritually stability with God as the head.
All these key ingredients makes a healthy family flavored with the fruit of the Spirit. Accepting the challenge as Christian parents is our responsibility out of obedience to God.
Winnie