Why the Family Is Crucial

In the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents.

–2 Timothy 3:1–2

Even before “You shall not murder” and “You shall not steal,” God commanded us to honor our parents (Exodus 20:12). And in 2 Timothy 3:1–2, Paul said failing to obey our parents is a sign of the end times. He wrote, “In the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents . . .” (emphasis mine).

Why is the parent-child relationship so important? The book Laws That Liberate gives five reasons the family is crucial. I want to expand on those today.

First of all, the family is the basic structure of society. Martin Luther wrote, “Family government is the basis of all other government. . . .  For what is a city but a collection of houses? How then can a city be well governed, when there is no government in the separate houses?. . . . Where the father and mother rule badly, and let the children have their own way, then neither city, town, village, district, principality, kingdom, nor empire, can be well and peacefully governed.” In other words, as the home goes, so goes the nation.

Second, our relationship with our parents is our only lifelong relationship. We enter the world in that relationship, and we die in that relationship, even if our parents predecease us.

Third, the parent-child relationship shapes a child’s self-image. Whether parents offer compliments or condemnation, acceptance or rejection, shapes how children view themselves.

Fourth, the family shapes a child’s attitude toward authority. If a child learns in the home that there are boundaries to their behavior, they won’t have as much trouble accepting boundaries outside the home. But if a child doesn’t learn to obey authority at home, they’ll struggle to respect authority in other areas of life.

Finally, the family establishes a child’s values. If parents value appearances, money, and possessions, their children will pick up on that. However, if parents model service and obedience to Jesus Christ, their children will be more likely to value those things.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “The Fifth Commandment: Honor Your Parents” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2023.

Bill Hybels, Laws That Liberate (Victor, 1985), 58–59; Martin Luther, as quoted in F. V. N. Painter, Luther on Education (St. Louis: Concordia, 1889), 114–15.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.