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balanced, warrn, dedicated, giving and
serving atrnosphere.
It
should be a
happy place fiUed with joy.
No wonder Jesus said, "I arn come
that they might have
LIFE,
and that
they might have it
more
abuodantly"!
(John
10:10.)
This happy and abun–
dant life can be centered in your fam–
ily and in your home! The most
deeply joyful, peaceful, uplifting and
rewarding experiences should be
experienced in your home and family
life, or at least be shared deeply and
fully WLTH your wife and children in
the- home and family situation.
The product of your marriage and
child-rearing practices will certainly
show up, dramatically, in your chil–
dren! They are the ones who display
the
kind of character
you have, the
kind of home life you lead. They are
the ones who are going to carry on
your name in this life and, probably,
into the World Tomorrow.
Jt certainly behooves every one of us
to cultivate a balanced and happy
horne. Avoid loud, jangling, dis–
couraging family argurnents. Yet in
how many fami lies do the husbands
and wives conbnually fight, argue and
"pick at" one another in front of their
children? A elose friend of mine once
cited the example of a boyhood chum
who began stuttering uncontrollably
during the violent quarrels his father
and mother bad wheo he was a child.
This stuttering habit continued right
on through his teen years, and even
affects this young man's personality to
tllis day! How deep and lasting these
hurts can be.
You need an active campaign to
teach your farnily and children about
the
abundant life
- God's kind of
life! Husbands and wives rnust be a
"team"!
In bringiog about the right kind of
happiness and balance in the horne, it
is important for the husband and wife
to be completely united in their
approach. Husbands and wives must
learn to cooperate and get on the same
"team."
Turn again to that most rnisunder–
stood of books - the Bible. You'll
PlAIN TRUTH May 1972
read first about a wife's responsibility,
then the husband's, in making the
"tearn" work: "Wives,
s11bmit
)'01lr–
selves
unto your own husbands, as unto
the Lord. For the husband is the HEAD
of the wife, even as Christ is the head
of the church ..." (Ephesians 5:22-
23). How do wives achieve the deep
happiness and joy they seek in their
homes? By learning to be the "help"
their husbands need.
You wives must learn to respond to
your husbands gladly and willingly as
long as it is within the revealed will
of God. You rnust learn to make your
husband's decisions succeed !
Yet, when a husband decides on
something with which the wife dis–
agrees, how often does she balk and
subtly try to make his decision fail?
This is absolute ly WRONC!
A
truly successful, happy woman
will cooperate with, back up, and sup–
port her husband in order to he lp
make his decisions succeed! She will
not verbally undermine him in front
of the chi ldren or in any other situ–
atíon. She wi ll be on his "team" -
looking to him
as
the captain and
d irector, and being sincerely thankful
and appreciative of his !ove, protec–
tion and support.
This passage continues with this
d1allenge to husbands: "Husbands,
love yom· wives,
even as Christ also
loved the church, and gave himself for
it" (Eph. 5:25). Justas Jesus Christ
cares for, protects, and gave His life to
save the Church, so every husband
should love, protect and nurture his
wife -
even as
his
oum body
(verse
28) .
You men should be considerate of
your wives' wishes - thinlcing always
of the larger good of the entire family
in any decision you make. Each of you
must display outgoing concern and
LOVE for your wife, and encourage
and inspire her to attain her full
development as a woman, and do
everything you can to bring about her
fulfillment and happiness in every
way.
Together, then, the husband and
wife should teach and train their chil-
dren in a home based on love,
warmth, a spirit of mutual helpfulness
and service, and sincere joy in living
an abundant family life! Notice this
further instruction: "And, ye fathers,
provoke not your children to wrath:
but bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord" (Eph.
6:4).
From infancy, children should be
taught and trained. But they should
also be loved, protected and nurtured.
Your willingness to spend time with
your children - to love thern, to play
with them, and to train thern - is a
tremendous responsibility.
It
will usu–
ally make the difference between their
having a great feeling of warmth, love
and respect for you - or a "distant,"
unresponsive attitude toward you.
If
a husband and wife are willing
to spend the proper time and effort
with each other, and with the chil–
dren, they will certainly have an
extremely happy "family kingdom."
This little unit will teach them lessons
of !ove, happiness and self-discipline
which will
carry
on over into the very
responsibilities for which God has
placed us on this earth - having a
part in His government, His society,
His kingdom in the World Tomorrow.
Here, then, are seven steps to hav–
ing a truly happy family kingdom:
Make Farnily Study
a
Habit
Teach yourself to sit down regularly
with your children - at least a few
times each week - and study with
them and explain to them irnportant
principies of successful living. Go
over basic articles frorn
The
PLAIN
TRUTH magazine with them and
inspire them to want to make a success
of their lives. Have father-son or
mother-daughter talks with them, tell–
ing them about your past life expe–
riences and lessons which you hope
they will not have to learn personally
by suffering as you did. Teach thern
positively, also, principies of success
and happiness.
Teach your children the basics -
honesty and integrity, the value of
hard work and productivity. Teach
them NEVER to lie or be deceitful-
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