My Grandmother once became quite angry when a young woman spoke in an arrogant tone that she wanted to work for a living and not just stay home with the kids. Grandma quickly pointed that what she did, raising six boys & managing a house was as hard a work as you'll ever find. I have also heard it stated that this is done to assert the independence of the wife. All I can say to that is, marriage is not about independence but dependence upon each other. My mother had a hard time having children and when I was born, thank God, she did not want to leave me for a minute and never worked outside the house until I was out of High School. As a result, both my sister and I are very close to our parents and we have both come to appreciate what they have done for us.
It is also very disturbing that to an increasing extent the government seems to want to take over the job of raising children. I have no doubt that many people in Washington D.C. would consider both of my parents unfit. They would not tolerate argument (discussion as they say now) but would give the famous reply, "because I said so" and if we persisted in breaking the rules, dear old Dad did not hesitate to be liberal with the belt. Did this scar me for life? No, it taught me to obey my parents without question and made me more respectful to older people. I hear very young children today tell their parents to 'shut up' or call them 'stupid' or even worse. Such things would never have occured to me or my sister since we learned at an early age that such disrespect had swift and memoral consequences.
People forget that, according to the Bible, households are governed by what I like to call, the Divine Right of Parents. The parent has absolute authority over the family as well as responsibility for it and no one can take that away--even the government. God told children to obey their parents, and not just when you agree with them. Just as God the Father punished His chosen people, and all His children, so does a mother or father have to enforce discipline on their children. This does not condone cruelty, for God also warned fathers against discouraging their children. It all comes down to protection and parents have the obligation to protect their children. That is why we had a strict curfew, rules saying what we could watch or listen to, and why my parents would also know exactly where we were at all times. Was it fun at the time? No, but it kept me out of the worst kind of trouble and I appreciate their concern now.
The fact is, the family is apart of God's plan. You don't pick your parents and couples don't choose their children, you simply get what God gives you. The Bible says God knew each and every one of us before we were born, and every child is a gift from Heaven. These are some of the reasons why I think abortion is such a cruel and unthinkable action. This has also been disguised as a women's rights issue, which is why the proponants of abortion are called pro-choice instead of pro-death which is the correct term. Women do have a choice -- the choice to become pregnant, the choice to sleep around. Once the baby has been concieved the choice has already been made. No one should have the 'choice' to take another human's life. Men must bear the responsibility also, after all the woman didn't get that way by herself. It always amazed me how macho guys could act until a pregnancy test comes back positive; all of a sudden they no longer feel the need to "be a man" and take responsibility for their actions.
That is one of the great crimes today, and a major cause for a great deal of our family problems: no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. Bad kids want to blame all their problems on their parents. Parents with bad kids blame the school system or their child's peers. Everyone has an excuse and it is never "my" fault. This problem has been growing ever since the Garden of Eden when Adam said, "My wife talked me into it" and Eve used the famous defense, "the Devil made me do it". The fact is, once a child is grown, they choose their own path in life and can either live as they were raised or go another way, the decision is their's and no one else's. As for the parents, God gave them the authority to run the household and they are responsible for what goes on in their families. The sad fact is, so many mistakes have given the government opportunity to step in and say, "You can't raise your kids so we'll have to do it". That is an absolutely terrifying thought. Far be it for me to dispute our former First Lady, but it doesn't take a village, it only takes God and good parenting. |
