God's Order in the Home
God is a God of order. When He created man He knew and understood that man would need an order or plan by which to govern his life. When men plan and work together in an organised way, they can accomplish great things. We see this in the account of the tower of Babel in Genesis chapter 11. If God had not stepped in, the people would have made a name for themselves. God has ordained powers for the nations of the world to maintain order. As long as the people under a ruler respect and obey him, the country is able to function and, at times, even prosper even though the man in power may be using that power to promote himself and his own ideas. But when someone tries to overthrow this power, it brings turmoil and confusion. This is also true for the home.
God has an order that He will bless when followed. When everyone accepts his rightful place, there is security. Security brings happiness and contentment; when anyone tries to step out of his place and into someone else's, it will cause disruption.
It is alarming how many broken homes and single parent homes there are around today. It is heart breaking when we see the havoc it works in the lives of those involved. The children receive many emotional scars. Mistrust, sometimes even hate, governs the thoughts toward one another: parent to parent, parent to children or children to parent. Many times ungrounded suspicions are planted. One sad result is that the children who find themselves in these situations have no foundation upon which to build their own homes when the time comes. It becomes a very weakening element in any organisation.
Another cause for alarm in many homes today is disobedient children. Many are the heartaches of parents whose children do not respect and obey them. Disobedience to parents is one of the marks of the end times. God has placed parents in authority over their children, and He will not bless children that do not submit to authority.
We should stop and reflect on our own homes and appreciate the many blessings that we enjoy. We should also ask ourselves if we are fitting into God's order. If the negative observations stated above are true, then surely the opposite can be true for those homes that are following God's order. There is a tie that binds together. Parents should look at their responsibilities in all seriousness and recognise the fact that the atmosphere in the homes in which their children grow up will have long-lasting effects. The comment has been made that today's weakness will be tomorrow's standard. What kind of foundation are we helping our children lay up for their future homes?
The son who grows up in a home where his father has rightfully filled his God-given place as the head of the home will find it much easier to accept his place when he gets married and has children. The daughter that observes her mother filling her place with humility and love will know what God expects of her when she is a wife and mother.
Young people, learning obedience to your parents will prepare you for accepting your responsibilities in the future.
David Yelulani (Banket, Zimbabwe)
