Monday: The Power of Culture on Family
“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Gen. 18:19).
Family Culture
Though they might come in various configurations, families are the building blocks of society; thus, many distinct cultural traits of various societies are directly tied to family. For instance, in one ancient culture it was deemed a man’s responsibility to eat the corpse of his dead parents; in another, a man who wanted a bride had to bring her father a dowry of shrunken heads from a rival tribe. Even in modern times, ideas relating to children, courtship, divorce, marriage, parents, and so forth vary widely. As we spread our message to these various cultures, we have to learn how to relate to them in ways that, while not compromising our beliefs, don’t cause unnecessary problems. At the same time, and closer to home, we have to be very aware of just what cultural influences impact our families.
In what ways did culture impact family life in the following examples? What principles can we learn from these examples?
None of us live in a vacuum; all of us and our families are impacted by the culture in which we live. Our responsibility as Christians is to exist within our culture the best we can, keeping that which is in harmony with our faith, while shunning, as much as possible, that which conflicts with it.
| What things in your particular culture are helpful to family life and in harmony with the Bible? What things are not? How can you best adapt your faith to your culture without compromising essential truths? |
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One of the family institutions that is often neglected these days is family worship, particularly when the children become teenagers and there are so many things that impact on our time. I know that nailing kids down for a few minutes of spiritual blessing can be difficult.
When I was a kid (yes I can remember back that far) we read the morning watch and had a prayer in the morning, and after tea (supper for non-Australians) we would read the lesson study together and have a prayer. We lived on a dairy farm and it was relatively easy to organize our time to do this. When our own children were young we followed a similar practice, but it was more difficult as time was much harder to manage. The effort does pay dividends and provides a cultural experience of shared spirituality.
It is important that worship is not seen as an onerous fulfillment of duty. I have seen situations where family worship has become a nightmare where sullen kids are forced to sit through boring readings that have little meaning to them.
I have mentioned previously that on one of our travels we were in the dining room of a hotel where a Jewish family group was opening Sabbath. It was a gala occasion and the singing and storytelling when on for quite some time. Notably, the children in the group had a key role in the storytelling and as each child contributed you could see the parental affirmation and the effect it had on the children. This was Jewish culture functioning at its very best and I have to admit I was a touch envious of what was taking place. The tour group that I was with (largely unchurched folk) were also impressed.
There is a lot of room for creatively developing our "Adventist" culture so that it provides a rich supportive spiritual experience, that goes beyond the cerebral understanding of doctrine.
Jesus said:
He knew where to grow our spiritual experience.
That first line?-absolutely well said.
Good one.
So is sentence number two-easier said than done.
Wooow!
Excellently said. And thank You for sharing with the rest of it