The Importance of Family Life

 So we can see that when there is no father in the home to serve as a model and a guide for the sons and to protect his daughters, and when the mother is not at home to give those loving kisses, motherly sympathy and comfort to the children, then it goes without saying that some of the prime ingredients necessary in the healthy development of the human being is missing.

  It is the young mind such as these that are open prey to the unrighteous forces in society and as a consequence is filling and overcrowding the prisons and causing and abundance of babies being born to babies, this leads to an abundance of heartache, grief, stress, and frustration in the home and is in turn reducing the ranks of emotionally stable right thinking men and women who would otherwise make ideal husbands or ideal wives. We can safely conclude that the erosion of society is closely tied to the erosion of the family unit.

          Why are there so many homeless children? Why are there so many emotionally disturbed men, and women, and children? What happen to disrupt the healthy relationships of days gone by?

          It is that so-called sexual revolution. It is in this modern day environment that unacceptable behavior has become acceptable to the vast majority of the people. Destructive societal mores have replaced constructive societal moral attitudes. Lifestyles and mental attitudes that are incompatible with normal family life have become a common place.

          Today it is not strange to turn on the radio or television and experience and articulate person giving a scholarly discourse on the virtues of the freedom to pursue and engage in unmarried sexual intercourse, or common-law shack-ups or unashamed homosexual relationships. Every soap opera and most every movie script is sending one or more of these messages into the minds of the viewing public. This in turn is creating a dangerous precedent for the future of healthy family unions.

          Boyfriend and girlfriend relationships cannot be confused or compared with being husband and wife. The difference being, that boyfriend and girlfriend relationship is based on temporary romantic interest, while marriage is based on a serious meaningful commitment.

          Any structure that is to endure must be built on the most solid of foundations. Family structures are not built on superficial girlfriend-boyfriend relationships alone. It is not built on homosexual relationships, nor common-law couples who set up temporary play-house scenarios.

          There basic truths must be faced rationally. When a romantic cohesion takes place between man and woman, it is likely over a period of time, to produce children.

          Children born out of wedlock are faced with a difficult future unless they are fortunate enough to have their parents eventually get married or are adopted into a loving home. The less fortunate children are placed in adoption centers. Many of these children have never known the blessing of being a member of a real family.

          There is a dire need for right mined people with healthy morals to make their homes available to these innocent victims of society. This will help to maintain and perpetuate the irreplaceable institution of family.

          The survival of the society is predicated on the survival of the family. The family is a community which needs structure to maintain and perpetuate order. That structure is similar to a government. The father is the head or president over the household. He is the family spokesman. This is the divine arrangement that has come to us throughout the history of the world since record time.

          This arrangement is strongly endorsed by the three major religions, namely Al-Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

          If a family is to be organized, certain rules and standards must be established. Such as rule of conduct, types of social life, financial budgets, religious activities, mode of behavior in the home, school involvement and many other things.

          If the husband is wise he will seek family consultation and participation in setting some of these rules. Wisdom also dictates that the husband should delegate authority to his wife in establishing household rules, since she is the one that clearly supervises this area. Even though the wife may determine instruction, discipline, dress code, religious connections and other motherly responsibilities it is important for her to remember that she is not the family leader and that the husband should eventually have the last word.

          Although the husband is the undisputed leader of the family, the wife plays an equally important part in leadership role. She is his supporting star who is actively involved in all major and many minor decision making. Her ideas are suggestions are essential to his home governing responsibilities. He needs her support and understanding to effectively fulfill and maintain his family leadership obligations. This teamwork is extremely important in the proper administration of a household.

By Abdul Alim Bashir