Several years ago, a former First Lady wrote a book entitled, "It Takes a Village." In her book she suggests that to raise good, healthy, mature and responsible children:
Parents are important but not necessary. She suggests that it is not necessary to have a mother and father. We could just have a mother or a father (we understand that there are circumstances where this happens, however this is not ideal). Some even now suggest that parents could consist of two mothers or two fathers (sodomy).
School teachers, social workers, school boards, and government agencies must have a say in the administration of our homes and families. Though these may have a place in society, they do not have any authority over the home or any business dictating how the home should be run or how our children should be raised. Children are to be raised and trained by their parents under the authority of the Lord as directed in His Word, the Bible.
It does not take a village or the government to raise good, healthy, godly children. In 1 Kings 19:13-18, the king and queen were very wicked people, their administration was very wicked with an ungodly society. Yet, God had seven thousand people there were faithful and loyal to Him. There were multiple good, godly homes in spite of an ungodly government and society.
In Genesis 6:5-13 the entire world, with its leadership, educational system, society, and entertainment was wicked and ungodly, yet in the midst of all this, Noah and his family walked with God.
Yes, we can have good, strong, godly, Christlike homes without the government and society's intrusion. We can have happy, wholesome, holy marriages with good, godly, and grateful children.
It does not take a village, or social workers, or school boards or government agencies to raise up our children for the Lord.
However, it does take:
A Family. Genesis 2:18-25, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." Marriage and the family is God's institution, not the government's and is the very basis of a strong and stable society. I believe the moral and spiritual breakdown of our society can be traced directly to the moral and spiritual breakdown of our homes and families.
I believe it is important to understand that before God gave children, He instituted marriage between one man and one woman. Our hearts go out to single parents (for whatever reason), and to husbands and wives with an unsaved spouse, to husbands and wives with a backslidden spouse with little or no concern for the spiritual wellbeing of their home. As a church we need to rally around our brothers and sisters in these situations and support them every way we can, however, God's design is for every home to have a father and mother that know the Lord in a personal way and are actively involved in raising and training their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
A Bible. Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." No one has been down this road of life before. We got married without any previous experience in marriage. We became parents without any previous experience in child rearing. Praise the Lord for many who were raised and trained in good homes with strong marriages and have a model to follow, however, each individual has to make personal decisions that affect our homes, marriages, and children. We need God's Word, the Bible to be our guide book in life and in the home. The Bible is our marriage and child rearing road map. The Bible is our final and flawless authority on marriage, home, and child training. We need to read the Bible personally, as a family, and memorize it diligently. Study it's instructions on the family, fatherhood, motherhood, and children.
A Savior. Colossians 3:1-4, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Jesus Christ must be the head and center of our home and marriage, not just a name we talk and sing about in church on Sundays. Jesus Christ is not just "number one" in my life, He IS my life. Let's make Jesus Christ the center of our homes. Before we make any decision affecting our home and family, let's ask ourselves, "What would the Lord Jesus want us to do in this matter according to His Word?" Let's make all aspects of our family be governed by our love for the Lord Jesus Christ. The most important relationship in life is not my relationship with my family members, but rather my relationship with the Lord Jesus. When my relationship with the Lord is what it should be, my relationship with my spouse and family will be what is should be. Individual family members may not be all that they should be, they may be difficult to love and respond to as we should, however, if we love the Lord Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, then we will be able to love them and respond to them as the Lord instructs us to.
We are not dependent upon any "village" or government agency to have strong, godly, happy, spiritually strong homes and families. We need good and loving parents, the Bible as our guide book, and a love for the Lord Jesus that governs all our actions.
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