The Value of Family
Text: Genesis 2:18,24
Introduction:
Many forces are working to change the family values. Many voices are telling us that the family is finished and out of date. The tell us that the family is irrelevant, a thing of the past.
In Television series we rarely see a normal and happy family portrayed. Family values have been attacked and ridiculed by those that do not believe in Biblical Godly Values. The world has tried to redefine the family and its value. In order for the Christian to know what a family is for and what family values should be portrayed we need to look to the Word of God.
What does the Bible have to say about the family? Let's start at the very beginning when God made Adam and Eve, the very beginning of family creation. In the first book of the Bible we have the beginning of the manual concerning family.
Genesis 2:18, 24, "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.' Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife."
Please notice two things: First, the family was God's idea. He instituted the family, so it will always be around because families are the building blocks of society. Second, God made Adam, put him in a perfect environment. Adam had everything he wanted and yet God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." That's true whether you're married or single. People were made to associate with other people. We need relationships. Whether you are married or single, you need some deep relationships and caring people in your life. Man was not made to be alone, so God created the family. Then He looked and said, "Now its good."
A family is to be a shelter in times of storms. We all have storms in life because sometimes life get tough. We experience the rain and the dark storms. We didn't plan these storms. In the storm, we need a place of protection and security. We need a place to call home and a family that loves us and cares for us in spite of our short comings and failures.
Proverbs 14:26, "Reverence for the Lord gives a man deep strength; his children have a place of refuge and security."
Circle the words, "refuge and security". Do your children have a place of refuge and security? The Bible says that God created the family to be a shelter in storms. There are many kinds of storms that a family may face. Let's consider three of these storms.
1. Change is a storm. We go through changes in life. We have illnesses, deaths, graduations, jobs, moving to a new location. But there needs to be a place that no matter where the house is, there is a family in it that I know can be counted on for support when these changes come. We need a shelter in the storm.
2. Failure is a storm. We are not always a winner in life. Sometimes we lose. Perhaps a promotion might be turned down. Maybe we get a "F" at school or we get turned down to play on a team. Bankruptcy could be in our plate. There are many different types of storms that may come in our lives. We can handle a lot of failure in life if we can come home to hugs and encouraging words. These will help us to handle the storms in our life.
Family members are fans even when you have a losing season. A family is a shelter in times of storms.
Eccl. 4: 9-10, "Two are better than one. If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it's just too bad because there's no one to help him."
3. Rejection is a storm. This is probably the most difficult storm to handle of all the storms. We dislike being rejected, put down, ridiculed or criticized. Some of the most difficult rejection in growing up was on the school playground. Sometimes kids are cruel. If you don't believe in a sin nature, just become a school teacher. Sometimes kids can be absolutely ruthless.
When we play games in life most of the goals is to get home, because when you're home you are safe. Homes were meant for safety. They are a shelter in a storm. It's safe to cry at home. That's what homes are for. They are shelter in the storm where you can let down and be consoled and comforted and cared for. When one goes through rejection a shelter is necessary. It is needful to have somebody who cares for you and will listen to you.
What is my response to this? Simply to demonstrate my love. You love your family. Demonstrate it this when they're going through a tough time. Give them a listening ear; give them two arms that will hold them; give them a hand that will pick them up when they fall down and give them words of encouragement when they are discouraged.
A Family is A Learning Center For Life - We usually think of parents teaching the children. If you're not learning from your family, you are missing great opportunities. In family you learn basic skills for life; how to walk, talk, eat, all of life's basic skills you learn at home.
Psalm 144:12, "May our sons in their youth be like plants that grow up strong."
The Bible compares the family to a garden. It's a place to grow people, a garden to grow to grow people in. Ephesians 6:4, "Fathers don't exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord". A family should have training and instruction. Some have said that the bottom line in training your child is knowing which end to pat and knowing when to pat it. When you are traiing your children you want to take them through three stages; from parent control to self control to God's control.
Luke 2:52, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man". Jesus grew four ways:
1. wisdom - intellectual growth
2. stature - physical growth
3. favor with God - spiritual growth
4. favor with man - social growth.
The same goal must be for your family. Each should grow intellectually, spiritually, socially and physically. Our homes should be learning centers for the entire family. In our home we should learn how to use the building blocks of relationships, character and values. Isaiah 38:19, "One generation makes known Your faithfulness to the next".
Relationships - Family members need to learn how to relate to each other. We can do this by learning to respect each other, by making allowances for the differences in our lives.
Character - Someone said that character is what you are when no one is around. Many families are Christian on Sunday and critics the rest of the week. What do I mean by that? We love and embrace one another on Sunday, but the rest of the week critize and cut each other down. On Sunday we show ourselves as a loving family and the rest of the week we portray something else.
Values - Think of all the things we learn at home: about work, sex, time, money, play, God, other people. We learn what is really important to us -- our values reveal what is truly important to us.Your family is a relay of values. It's like a relay race. You're passing the baton on to your children and they will pass the baton on to the next generation and so on. Your family is simply one link in a long chain throughout time. linking the families before you to the families that come after you. The question is, What are you passing on to your children?
Have you ever heard, "I'm not going to impose my spiritual values on my kids. I'm going to let them decide for themselves". Baloney! The foolishness of that is that it implies that God is an option. God is not and should not be an option! If you're not teaching your family about God you are making a major mistake that has eternal implications. It's not a matter of just letting them decide. The Bible says that if you are a parent that is part of your job description - teaching values.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7, "These commandments impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up".
Why don't most families do this anymore? Because we spend much time watching idle stuff on the television. The average child watches television about 1000 hours a year. If they attend church every Sunday for 2 hours, they will have 96 - 100 hours of Bible teaching a year. Where are many kids getting their values - television or God's Word? It is very important that we take care in where and how our children get their values. We need to evaluate our values in the light of God's Word and ask ourselves, What kind of values am I teaching my children and family? Am I showing my family how to develop godly values?
A Family Is A Place to Play - The home should be a place for family fun, a haven for happiness and a place to have a good time. Home is the place that we kick back, relax and take it easy with the family. Many homes get this second point about a learning center and the father thinks that the learning center is a boot camp and he is the drill sergeantEccl. 9:9, "Enjoy life with your wife whom you love".
Proverbs 5:19, Be happy with your wife and find your joy with the girl you married" (Good News).
You've seen these these bumper stickers: "The family that prays together stays together. This one can be added to it. "A family that plays together stays together. Families need to create times to have fun with the children too. If your children in the confines of family life they will have memories that will be cherished for years to come. There is a need to celebrate our families. Children are a gift.
Psalm 127:3-5, "Children are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth."
The Family Should Be A Launching Pad For Ministry - You may have never thought of your family as being a ministry team together. There is nothing more exciting than having a family that ministers as a team.
I Corinthians 16:15, Stephanas and his family were the first to become Christians in Greece and they are spending their lives helping and serving Christians everywhere" (NL).
What a great goal to have a ministry team, to see our family as a launching pad for the Kingdom of God. How do you do it? By helping and serving other believers. The ultimate basis for joy and harmony in the family is this verse; "The whole family was filled with joy because they had come to believe in God" (NL). When your whole family knows the Lord, loves the Lord and serves the Lord, it is a unifying factor and brings great joy.
Joy comes when our family believes in Jesus. There is nothing like the thrill to me personally of sitting in church and seeing them sing to the Lord and singing praises to Jesus Christ. My number one task as a father is to do the best I can to make sure my children grow up loving Jesus Christ. That is so important. If you have some in your family that don't know Jesus as Lord you should be praying constantly for them. It is so important to me as a father to know that my family will be eternally in heaven with me.
