Morning Devotional

December  16, 2005
"Strong Families" (Part 1)         
    by Don Emmitte

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You wives must submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. ¹⁹And you husbands must love your wives and never treat them harshly. You children must always obey your parents, for this is what pleases the Lord. Fathers, don't aggravate your children. If you do, they will become discouraged and quit trying. (Colossians 3:18-21 NLT).

In a few days Mary and I will be celebrating our 36^th Wedding Anniversary! It hardly seems possible that so much time has passed so quickly. There have been so many wonderful experiences that it would be very difficult to single one out as the best. Of course there have been challenges too, but those are so easily eclipsed by the good that they are hardly worth mentioning.

As I began to think about these wonderful years, I turned to the subject of family. For the next few days, I will focus on the importance of developing strong families. Former President Ronald Reagan, in an interview with Dr. James Dobson, reported in Focus on the Family magazine, said, "I don't believe you can have a strong, healthy nation without the family unit as its very base. As the family goes, so goes the nation." Dr. Nick Stinnett, chairman of the Department of Human Development and the Family at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, agrees. He believes that history clearly illustrates the relationship between the strength of families and the strength of nations.

 

"As we study some of the ancient cultures such as that of Egypt, Rome and Greece," says Stinnett, "we see a common pattern: When these cultures were coming into the peak of their power and glory as nations, the family was strong. It was important and was valued very highly. Family members cooperated with one another. They depended on each other. Then, as these nations progressed along their paths of destiny, the family came to be not so highly valued, the culture became extremely individualistic. It was a 'do your own thing' philosophy to an excessive degree. The families deteriorated. When that happened, the societies themselves fell."

The family shapes the nation because it shapes the lives of those who make up the nation. It is within the family that we either gain or fail to gain our sense of belonging, our sexual identity, and our sense of self-worth. The family also teaches us values and how to relate to other people. When these basic needs for belonging, acceptance, self-worth, and training in wholesome values and relationships are not adequately met, the seeds of juvenile delinquency, alcoholism, drug abuse, impaired relationships, marriage breakdown, divorce, homosexuality, depression and mental illness are sown. And the more of these problems we have, the weaker our nation becomes. If ever there was a time for strong families, now is that time. Tomorrow we’ll look more into this on a practical level. For now, ask God to help you develop a strong family.