Fractured Families Weaken a Nation

If you've read any of my stuff before you've probably heard me discuss God's plan for mankind in the beginning. Adam and Eve were told to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it. They were to rule in the earth. God's structure for a community, a society, even a nation, is built upon the family structure. Children that are taught the ways of the Lord early on, and pursue a genuine worship-based relationship with the Lord, will be productive members of the society. They will play a meaningful part in a community, blessing it with their unique gifts and call. We see this as the plan after Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land. They had no king and the people were free to do as they pleased.

However, the generation after Joshua's did not know the Lord and they departed from Him and served other gods. This got them into trouble. They were plundered and eventually brought into slavery. When they cried to the Lord, He raised up a deliverer, Othniel, who was the first judge. (Judges 2 & 3). After that, they had judges who judged them. These judges were also warriors who defended Israel, but they were not kings who dictated to the people what to do. I find it interesting that the judges were also warriors. They were those who understood the outside threats against Israel, as well as understanding the Law of Moses to judge within the nation.

It's important to note that the judges didn't make the law--they judged righteously according to the Law of Moses. I wonder if the founding fathers of the United States noticed this. The United States was founded upon "The Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" as Thomas Jefferson wrote. The phrase was most likely taken from Lord Bolingbroke who wrote, "...One follows nature, and nature's God; that is, he follows God in his works, and in his word." The judges of Israel judged according to the Law, but everyone still had a certain degree of personal freedom. In a free society, our freedom to follow God is the very thing that makes that society work.

"In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes." Judges 17:6

Does this sound like the "right" way to run a country today? Everyone doing what they feel is right? You would think it would be utter chaos wouldn't you? In a nation that does not fear God, it would be chaos. However, this is the principle upon which The United States was founded. Everyone having the freedom to live as they choose, according to their belief in God. To accomplish this, the United States was not founded as a nation where the Government dictates what the people can or cannot do. It was structured so the people told the Government what it could and could not do. This is why John Adams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

It wasn't until Israel wanted to be like other nations who had kings that they got rid of the judges and went to being ruled by a king. Of course God still raised up prophets to speak to the people, and to the kings, but the structure of the government had changed. The king ruled.

My point is this, God's best plan is for a nation to be structured around a family based society who has faith in God. As children are raised up by parents who will teach them the ways of the Lord, and lead them into a personal relationship with the Lord, these kids will grow up and bless society. As adults, their desire will be to please the Lord, following His law of love which means they won't wreak havoc in a society, they will contribute something meaningful in their generation.

This is why Satan does all that he can to fracture the family unit. Divorce, domestic abuse, drug addiction, alcoholism, homosexuality, pornography, adultery etc. are all tools of his to tear apart families. As families experience strife on a daily basis, or each individual selfishly cares for just themselves, the family bond diminishes and will finally dissolve. When this happens, the foundation of our society weakens and begins to crumble. We need strong families in order to have a strong nation. Children need to be raised up and taught the ways of the Lord, as well as His way for the structure of a nation.

"...Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed..for I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice..." Genesis 18:18-19.

If we've learned anything at all from the history of Israel, it's that each generation must experience a fresh encounter with the Lord themselves. We cannot assume that just because we follow the Lord, they will follow Him too, without teaching them or leading them in His way. We usually teach our kids to follow us, not the Lord, and this will not work--they need to become a new creation in Christ themselves.

So what do you do if your family has been fractured? If you are a single parent, divorced, or live alone, start where you are. Take whatever family pieces you have left and work with that.

• Pray for unity in your marriage if you are married. Only He can cause your individual goals to become a unified goal.
• Seek the Lord for your path in life--job, school, ministry, relationships etc.
• Adjust your path to fit what the Lord shows you.
• Teach your children the ways of the Lord and pray for them!!
• Support others in your family in their desires and effort to reach their goals and purpose.
• Recognize that our Government is not to dictate how, when, where, or if, we can worship God.

When our faith is in the God of the Bible, and we live according to His ways, our families will be blessed and strengthened. We will bless our communities, and cause our nation to prosper and live in peace.

Quote references:
Lord Bolingbroke and Thomas Jefferson, retrieved March 13, 2016
http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/current-events/what-is-the-law-of-natures-god
John Adams, retrieved March 13, 2016
http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=63