More than one hundred fifty years ago, John Howard Payne wrote words that still touch the hearts of people all over the world:
‘Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam; Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home...Home, home, sweet, sweet home; Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.’
As they say, “they don’t write ’em like that any more.”
A teen-ager once defined home as “the place where you go when everything else is closed.” Yes, they may think that way now, but if they have a good home, the time will come when they change their mind.
You can “bet your boots” those soldiers coming home from Iraq long for home. Home. The very word says Trust. Hope. Love. Peace. Safety.
But what makes a home “good”? Is it carpet and kitchen, paint and polish? The home as God planned it has many ingredients that make it “good.”
Home: Where Parents are Parents
Children don’t need a “buddy” as much as they need parents who love and listen to them. Home is a place where children’s thoughts are respected, yet Mom and Dad are still in charge. It is one of the best gifts a child can receive, because “this is right,” Ephesians 6:1. Home is where children learn to obey their parents’ rules and ultimately the laws of God and man. If they don’t learn them at home, they may never learn them.
Home: A Place of Instruction
Parents are a child’s first teachers. Their earliest lessons are mostly by example, but as children grow, then by words, discipline and rules. This is where they learn the Bible, the dignity of work, the value of integrity and honesty, forming priorities, taking responsibility for their actions, and preparing for marriage; all are serious lessons of life. These cannot be ‘sub-contracted’ to school, preachers, elders or teachers. Parents, you are “teachers” whether you realize it or not, and what and how you teach will guide those children for life.
Home: A Place of Preparation
Have you noticed that puppies, and baby birds are on their own and ready for life within weeks or months, but children are in the care of their parents for years. Why? Children have a soul, a soul that must be prepared to meet the world, evade its dangers and resist its temptations.
Life includes relationships, marriage being most important. Young men and women must learn early that God’s Word governs marriage; that it is a permanent relationship. If we prepare them biblically, they can look forward to life without the sin and sadness of divorce, which, in fact, God hates, Malachi 2:16. Preparation —that’s a job for parents and it’s an obligation of love from parent to child.
Home: Where We Learn to Serve
We may expect a child to think of self first, but the parents’ responsibility is to guide them in the direction of serving others. Jesus’ statement, quoted by Paul in Acts 20:35 says:
“…remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Jesus’ apostles had to learn this lesson (Mark 9:35) and our example — along with our words— enables a child to become a caring, selfless, loving child of God, reaching out to serve those in need. This is an area in which our example is much more powerful than our words.
Home: Children Obeying Parents
The Bible is not hard to understand on this subject. Ephesians 6:1 says:
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.”
Note the phrase, “for this is right.” It is right because God knows children need to learn, not teach. They must first learn to obey, not command.
How many of our mothers and/or fathers stayed up with us until the wee hours of the morning when we were sick? Or gave us confidence, or took us to places of importance to us?
Have we truly shown our parents how much we love and appreciate them? Have we told them so? Or have we been content to just keep on ‘taking’ and never giving back a measure of that love they gave us?
A child who has loving parents— parents who discipline, love and lead — what a wonderful blessing for us today and in the future. It is my hope that all children so blessed will not only obey their parents but show them every day their love for them.
Have any of us taken our home for granted, forgetting what that home means to us? The first institution God created was the home, and we thank you, God, for a blessing that keeps on giving and giving.
