The breakdown of the family is a well-documented reality. But pundits, candidates, politicians, preachers, and educators alike continue to turn to statist solutions to the social ills of our day, failing to recognize that they result from a failure to abide by God’s architecture for society.
In God’s economy, the family is the primary institution that is to train individuals to become responsible participants in every sphere of life. Even among those who acknowledge the Biblical jurisdiction of the family, the sad reality is that very few have any practical concept as to how to turn things around, or even know where to begin. The book of Genesis is the necessary “starting point” (forgive the pun) in determining how this should play out in day-to-day life. With Genesis as our foundation, we can then proceed through the laws of the Pentateuch for our blueprint for social order. Only then can we hope to make any lasting difference beyond the walls of our homes. Continue reading
It is easy to become weighted down with all that is wrong in the world. A quick perusal of one’s Facebook feed, or catching an excerpt from network news, might convince someone that the only sane thing to do is run and hide. That is what happens when we walk by sight rather than faith. To combat this oh-so-frequent tendency, it is good to have regular reminders of the way things really are.
Today I received a complimentary copy of a parenting magazine in the mail. I don’t know why it was sent, as I definitely do not fit their marketing demographic — working moms who need help in “doing it all.” There are some articles for stay-at-home moms, but they are few in number.
There is a temptation in the age of social media, ready internet access, and talk radio, to lose our focus when it comes to the Great Commission we have been given by the Lord. Depending on what is “trending” in cyberspace or the airwaves, we can get caught up in giving our opinion on the latest disaster, scandal, or incident of political unrest and assume we have done our part. In the end, our opinion does not matter; it is our allegiance to God’s law-word that will make the difference in solving the seemingly insurmountable problems of our day.
My three children have a number of years between them. Six and a half years separates my first from my second; the third one came seven and half years later. People used to comment that with the age spread, I probably would not have too many occurrences of them not getting along. Wrong! Since we homeschooled, they had plenty of opportunity to get on each other’s nerves and irritate one another.
The sin of Genesis 3:5 involved Adam and Eve failing to accept and live by God’s absolute standard in the design and proper use of the things He had created. As a result, all of us have been born with the propensity to want to have our will be done. The only way to maneuver successfully through the maze of life with other sinners is to have a standard that transcends us all. In other words, we can only thrive in life if we align ourselves to an absolute, unchanging standard. Thankfully, God has supplied us with such in His law-word, found within the pages of Scripture.
I doubt many parents, upon looking at their newborn son or daughter, hope in their hearts that their child will grow up to be a fool. That would be as preposterous as desiring that their child have a catastrophic illness or debilitating injury. Parents tend to want the best for their children, and raising a fool does not fit into that category. Yet the very methods employed in raising their little darlings often result in what the Bible classifies as a fool.
When the subject of unequal yoking comes up, often people think about marriage, business, and associations. However, I think much is missed because the concept of yoking is not well understood. A yoke is a wooden beam normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull as a pair when working; although, a yoke can also be used on a solitary animal.
The family is God’s primary institution and it was to the family that the dominion mandate was given. Thus, it is important to marry and live in marriage according to God’s rules and commands. Too often, it is easy to act as though, since we are Christians and redeemed in Christ, we have little reason to examine and re-examine some of our presuppositions when it comes to the various callings in our lives — marriage and family being among the most important. In the following essay, which I am reprinting in its entirety, R. J. Rushdoony’s words help to clarify the biblical position and reorient couples away from some of the pitfalls of wrong thinking on the part of both women and men.
Anyone who has played Monopoly knows about the “get out of jail” card. This card allows the player to avoid the unpleasant outcome of missing a turn. In the course of the game, if a player lands on a space or draws a card sending him to jail, this card can come in handy.
The Kingdom-Driven Family 