NECF 40-Day Fast & Prayer - Part 7: Family

September 8 - 12

In the creation story in Genesis, immediately after God had created man in His own image, He instituted the family: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh (Genesis 2:24, NIV). Since then, it is apparent throughout history, that the family has played a pivotal role in every people group all over the world to shape society and civilization. It is the family, together with the extended family and often times with the help of the community, which has played the primary role of preparing the next generation to continue the process of perpetuating itself. The family has done this by teaching skills as well as acceptable norms, values, attitudes and behaviour to the new generation. As such, the family has always been the greatest influence in a person’s life at least until he/she reaches adulthood.

In the last several decades, however, the influence of the family has seen a steady decline. The onslaught of humanistic philosophies have been reshaping the mindset of the individual from one that is family- and community-centered one to a more individualistic and ‘I first’ outlook. Furthermore, with the spiralling increase in the two income nuclear family, there is much less interaction in the parent-child relationship; time and opportunities for teaching and training the young minds has grown scarce. This deprivation is leading a growing number of youth to seek security and a sense of belonging amongst their peers. With little guidance and direction from responsible adults, the youth are exposed to a multitude of bad influences: substance and alcohol abuse, irresponsible sexual activities, gambling, petty crimes and all forms of addiction. When the influence of the family wanes, all forms of social ills can be expected to rise and tear at the stability of the social fabric. This is exactly what we are seeing in the 21st century. To arrest the decline in social order and reverse the trend we need to return to the basics: we need to strengthen the family.

There is a desperate need today for the resurgence of strong families. The onus is on the Church and the believers in Christ to lead the way. Being aware of God’s warnings and being ‘illumined’ by the Word of God, Christian families must be the salt and light to the communities in which they live. Are Christian families ready to take the lead?

Bro Wrutheran Sinnadurai

Retired Teacher & Author