Title: Family Success
Contents
Family Success (Ephesians 6:1-4)
There are many people who have succeeded in business but have failed in life. Many people lose their lives or get sick because of money and fame. Where should you base your success in life?
Regarding the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire, a British historian named Edward Gibbon, in his book The decline and for of the enpire, first put the cause of the fall to the rapid increase in the divorce rate.
The collapse of the family, which is the basis of human society and a small society, is not simply the destruction of the organization, but because it acts as a cause of the collapse of society and the country.
In today's Korean society, it is the divorce rate that is gradually increasing, and children are gradually decreasing. 50% of families are divorced, and 30% of children grow up without knowing who their parents are and are growing up in broken families.
One of the keywords of the 21st century is collaboration. Meaning collaboration and sharing, I consider this a word to ponder during Family Month in May. God gave the commandment to obtain a healthy society and happiness through the collaboration of the community called the family, and said it was the first covenant he gave to the land he promised to bless.
2-3 “Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may live long on the earth.”
Here are some suggestions for your family's success.
1. The family must have the meaning of being as a means to carry out God's will
In the same way, the common family in society must be a group with the same purpose, so that the solidarity of the family is strong. Just because we are in the era of individuality, respecting each other's opinions does not make us happy. A family is, in a sense, an organization that is one body. A wife is a rib from her husband, and a child is a body from their parents.
Hebrews 12:9 “And our physical fathers disciplined us, but we honored them; how much more should we not submit to the Father of all spirits and live?” God created Adam and Eve to live in the world. At least, he made us live as an organization called a family. Therefore, individualism is not biblically correct.
Personally, if I focus on God's goals, I can live a successful life. And it's great to see the family community come together. It is beneficial not only for cohesion, but also for further progress and happiness. God wants to reveal His good and beautiful history of salvation through the organization of the family. It is wrong to say that families are abandoned and individuals glorify God.
Even among the apostles, it is said that they should have a family in order to be able to serve as a deacon or to be fit for a church worker, except for special reasons.
Gal 6:10 “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, but especially to the household of faith.”
1 Timothy 3:12 “But deacons should be husbands of one wife, rulers over their children and their own households.”
Anyone who ignores family and goes to church is wrong from the start. Likewise for those who work in society, it is not justified to say that, no matter how justifiable the reason for divorce is and the family is broken, to do what will be done for the sake of a healthy and beautiful future for society.
What can I say about peace and happiness in my family even when I can't afford it? That is the right word to say 修身齊家治國平天下.
2. Family Success Can Be Built in Obedience and Love
In verses 1-2 of the text, the words obedience and reverence appear.
The word obedience is the basis for showing the act of faith by obeying God. Obedience is the foundation of the Christian faith and also the channel of faith. In other words, good faith means obeying God's will, and filial piety is the same as obeying parents.
The Hebrew word for obedience, shama, means to listen to and follow commands. Or, there is a saying to honor, which can be translated to go ahead and worship. It means that you value your parents highly and show them respect and reverence.
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1) Honoring one's parents is a commandment
Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and mother, that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”
1 Timothy 5:4 “If any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show filial piety in their own homes, to repay their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God.”
Filial piety is a biblical doctrine (Ex 20:12,21:15-17; Leviticus 20:9; Deut 5:16,21:18; Proverbs 1:8 6:2 0,30:17; Mal 1:6; Matthew 15:4-6, 19:19; Mark 7:10-13, 10:19; Col 3:20).
Some churchgoers misunderstand respect for their parents as an oriental ethic, which is ignorant. However, you should know that honoring your parents is a commandment revealed heavily in the Bible, except for persecution and conflicts arising from not worshiping ancestors because of the commandment that Christians must reject idolatry.
Honoring your parents is not a commercial transaction. There are stories of brutal expressions that are sometimes reported. My heart breaks when I hear the news of a terrifying crime that violates the horrific rule of killing parents over property problems.
2) Child love is the foundation of neighbor love
Leviticus 19:18 “Do not take revenge, do not grumble against your fellow men, love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”
The Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but if we, as parents, love our neighbors as much as we love our children, the society will be happy.
4 “And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
At the time of the Apostles, the family sentiment of Roman culture was an evil age when parents' love was insufficient due to the social tendency to not love children properly. What parent does not love their children? However, there are cases where it is not completely understood. There are also reports of nonsensical cases in which parents sell their children to live on their own.
When people get divorced, they abandon their children. From then on, it is difficult for both parents and children to be perfect. There are a lot of divorces, so I need to say something to comfort you, but it never went well. It is a great crime to burden the children who have to live with the love of their parents from an early age to the fate of living through difficult years.
To love your children,
(1) To not anger means to treat with love.
4 “And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
He commands us to educate ourselves in love for seven days. However, the big problem in today's Korean society is that children who have been born one by one and are loved and raised have the power to serve society. Children who grow up without love may be strong, but their strength is sometimes selfishly degenerate and there is a problem in joining society as a strong person and achieving harmony.
(2) To nurture with the Lord's culture is to raise and love children well.
Teaching God's will properly is the secret to loving children and a family's success. You see things in the news that have recently been broken by asking children only through culture and materialism.
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Deuteronomy 11:19 “And you shall teach it to your children, and preach these words when you sit at home, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.” It is very important to always educate and admonish based on God's Word and His will in life.
2 Timothy 3:15 “And from your youth you have known the Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
It is very beneficial to know the Bible from an early age, and as the child grows up, it will develop the ability to go on the right path on its own. You will have the right decision at the crossroads of choice.
3. Everything goes well with family success
Families have been torn apart, and there are some who have a great reputation. Could it be that the reputation and content were good?
3 “It will go well with you, and you may live long on the earth.” Prosperity means all things prosper. They honor their parents, but sometimes they do not live long on earth. Such a person will be replaced by a heavenly reward on the day of eternal life. Except for special things, if the family goes well, everything goes well.
The family story is the product of the glorious faith of the parents. No matter how good your faith is, no matter how good you are, how high you are, or how famous you are, you cannot receive proper recognition if your family is wrong.
Above all, we must achieve the success of the family community. A family community fulfilling its responsibilities to each other and cultivating it in reverence and love is the best principle that can prosper in all things. Therefore, those who have a wrong family should reflect deeply and strive to be whole. You should be faithful to your family with humility rather than excuses.
There is such a saying. He said that a husband with 90 points and a wife with 90 points can meet and form a family with 70 points, or a couple with 70 points can meet and form a family with 90 points.
A person's knowledge or environmental conditions alone cannot bring about family success. It is very difficult for an unusual couple to meet and make every effort to share their hearts with each other, and to grow into children who can love and respect their children.
Don't dream that money alone will make your family happy. It is not just one or two families where they tried to earn money and be happy, but ended up breaking up without taking care of their family. Even in the 1970s, there were cases where families went abroad to work abroad to make money and make their families happy, but when they returned after suffering, there were many cases in which families disappeared. Married people often fail because of throwing away economic conditions.
And there are too many foolish families who call themselves unhappiness with their discontent with the environment because their family philosophy is wrong and there is no clear lesson like biblical truth.
I believe that the social search that can change the modern times of suffering into happiness with AMF is the obedience and love movement of the family community. I believe that if the family is revived by following the biblical teachings about the family, the family will be happy and the society will also be happy.
What is urgent today is not money, but family love. Distinguish between what is important and what is urgent. Money may be urgent, but family is important. No matter how urgent it is, the important things must come first so that there is no regret.
Children's education should be biblically disciplined and united in true parental love. In what kind of society do you want to live as a successful person by raising a child who does not respect their parents?
It's not good to let kids grow up to their liking. As parents, you have to take responsibility and educate yourself. If a child mocks or beats his parents, his life becomes more and more terrifying as he grows older.
In any case, you should be careful not to treat your family lightly in any case, knowing that the preciousness of your family and the success of your family are especially very important things you should have as a believer in Jesus.
I pray with the Lord's lesson that you and I will be able to make your family successful, to prosper in all things, to live a long life, and to receive rewards in the afterlife.
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