Family Values
Randall Caselman
7/9/97
FAMILY VALUES
Home is God’s word for
Heaven On Earth. When things are right in the home, there is no place on earth we would rather be. When things are right at home, the whole world is a better place.
• Home... The word stirs the heart, tugs at the soul;
thoughts of a fireplace, the warmth of parents, love,
safety, security, peace.
• Home... Is suppertime and the smell of yeast bread,
homemade stew, popcorn, peanut butter sandwiches.
• Home... A place of sharing, loving, caring, knowing
that all is right no matter how bad the day has been.
We must understand that healthy, happy, functional Christian homes do not happen by accident. They occur as a result of work and discipline.
Christian principles are not only taught, they must be modeled. I remember praying with Mother before I went off to school. Daddy sitting with a Bible in his lap each evening. Yes, we had more Bible than TV at home. This could be our problem today. I remember Mom and Dad talking about what was right and wrong and how to apply the Word to daily activities. I never remember conversation about:
• How to make more money,
• How to further their career,
• How to keep up with the Joneses,
The family, as God would have it, is no accident. It is a result of God-centered living
There is lots of talk today about family values. Family Values has become a nebulous phrase, twisted to mean a host of different things, depending upon the individual using it. I am not interested in promoting Bill and Hillary’s family values, but Abrahamic family values—Biblical values for the home. Abraham is called the father of the faithful. It is time that we become fathers-of-the-faithful. I want my children and grandchildren to be faithful to God, not to some distorted concept of a politician and his wife. We must return to an interest in how to get our children out of the womb, into the home, into the church, and on their way to Heaven; become parents of the faithful or we become family failures.
How do we do it?
Place God First. At Sinai it was no other gods before Me. Jesus said,
Love God with all your heart, body, mind, and soul. In the sermon on the mount, He said,
Seek you first the Kingdom of Heaven. Satan has convinced us that God does not have to be first, second or even present at all, that Biblical principles have no place in modern families. Satan advocates that we can replace Abrahamic family values with political correctness. No. No. No. Not ever and still be known as
fathers-of-the-faithful.
Love Your Spouse. Love the wife as Christ loved the church. No relationship on earth is as important as husband and wife; not job, not education, not investments, not children, not friends—nothing! We will not be great parents until we become great lovers. In counseling, we see dysfunctional children come from dysfunctional parents. Most often a result of a lack of love between parents, lack of Biblical family values.
Love Our Children. God never gave the responsibility of raising our children to the government, to the local school board, to the day care center or to the church. Our children’s spiritual, cultural, social, educational, financial and physical welfare is Biblically placed upon our shoulders as parents. Any attempt to remove that responsibility and place it elsewhere is against God’s will. For instance, if we allow today’s public educational system to take over our responsibility, the next generation will become atheist, because the schools can’t talk about God. It’s against the law. We must restore Abrahamic family values—become
fathers-of-the-faithful. We cannot violate God’s will with no consequences.
Genuine family values, Abrahamic, Biblical family values, becoming parents of the faithful, getting our children out of the womb, into the home, into the church, and on their way to Heaven. That’s family. That’s value!
—Randall Caselman
