Prioritizing the Family

 

When Christians consider what has happened to the family in our culture we should see a huge red flag. Culture has moved so far from biblical thinking on the family, especially the roles of mother and father, that even what the church is teaching has been affected.

The specific instructions of Titus 2:3-5 are that older women are to teach younger women “to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed (Titus 2:4-5).” This is all family-based – indicating that family is to be a high priority for the wife and mother.

When a woman is taught or mentored so that what grows in her is the fear of the Lord and her understanding of His Word, we help to build the Kingdom of God and teach others not to blaspheme His Word. This starts at home, within the family. And, when Mom grows, so does the next generation.

So, why should older women spend their time teaching younger women whom we barely know, taking precious hours from someone or something else, teaching doctrine considered passé in our culture, and requiring energy that could be spent elsewhere?

The simple answer is that by doing so, we obey God’s command in Titus 2.

The more complicated answer digs a little deeper to God’s purposes for His kingdom. When older women teach the younger women, the goal is to grow the Kingdom of God and glorify the Person of God, as well as to help the woman grow in faith, knowledge, and understanding of God’s plan for women in the family, specifically her role in her family.

For the record, the emphasis in this post is on the role of the woman (and the older woman’s responsibility to teach the younger woman) in the family. However, biblically speaking, the husband has a bigger responsibility before God for the spiritual well-being of the family. A wife needs to expect her husband to teach the family the Word of God and support his efforts to do so.

As older women, mothers, or even teachers in the local assembly, we have opportunity to teach what God’s Word has to say about the family. Just as important is the example we set as we live for others to see:

• What are we teaching our own children and grandchildren about the place of the family in our lives?
• Could they follow our example of loving our husbands and children and still please God?
• How are we demonstrating a biblical picture of marriage for anyone who witnesses our interactions with our spouse?
• Do others see us work at homemaking, purity, being self-controlled, and not reviling God’s Word?

The family is very important in God’s economy. Many verses instruct both mothers and fathers in the way to teach their children and live toward each other and the Lord. But, as Christians, we must be sensitive to the fact that the family is a priority. This does not just mean yours is a priority for you and mine for me. It means that we need to be bolder in defending the family, parent’s responsibilities and rights, and encouraging others to do the same.

We can speak about the family publically but we also need to consider if our lives are living examples of these principles God has given us regarding the family.