Oct 28, 2015
by Pastor Robert Babcock
Marlboro SDB Church, NJ
Because of the way the police, the justice system and society as a whole treats African-Americans, some feel that they must think that black lives don’t matter. They are rebelling against that notion with the chant “Black Lives Matter.” To be honest, I can’t really speak to that issue, because I haven’t walked in their shoes. But I tend to believe that what God’s Word teaches is that all lives matter. Ken Chroniger has asked me to speak next year at conference on the subject of the “Family.” In this context, it has occurred to me that more than ever before, the family is under attack in America — almost to the point where it seems that the preponderance of Americans today no longer think the FAMILY MATTERS.
The attack against the God-instituted family unit has come from many arenas: from government-funded child abortion clinics; the easy access of divorce; the increasing number of absentee fathers; mothers and fathers both working and allowing daycare centers to raise their children; more and more couples living together out of wedlock. The list goes on and on, to the point where today the Supreme Court of our land has passed a law demanding that every state recognize and perform same sex marriages. Couples can’t even perform the basic functions of the marriage that God instituted and called good. Such a union may fulfill the requirements of our fallen society, but it is not and can never be the FAMILY that God intended.
Our nation was founded on the Godly principals of the Christian Family. From Genesis to Revelation, marriage and the family is emphasized and encouraged. It started with Adam and Eve, it goes through such luminaries as Boaz and Ruth, and it ends with Christ and the church. Marriage is everywhere in there. I will not say that every writer mentions it, but it is pretty close. The Bible contains actual chapters regarding instruction on marriage and the family; and numerous individual verses throughout the Bible in the form of laws, proverbs, songs, prophecies, and clear teachings.
The Bible supports marriage and the family from cover to cover.
All of our forefathers understood the necessity of Godly Families to make our nation great. We seem to have lost sight of that basic necessity in our society today.
An appropriate scripture for us to consider is Psalm 128. From the
Contemporary English Version of the Bible it reads:
1 The Lord will bless you
if you respect him
and obey his laws.
2 Your fields will produce,
and you will be happy –
all will go well.
3 Your wife will be as fruitful
as a grapevine,
and just as an olive tree
is rich with olives,
your home will be rich
with healthy children.
4 That is how the Lord will bless
everyone who respects him.
5 I pray that the Lord
will bless you from Zion
and let Jerusalem prosper
as long as you live.
6 May you live long enough
to see your grandchildren.
Let’s pray for peace in Israel!
The 128th Chapter of Psalms, as in the former chapter, is a psalm for families especially emphasizing that the well-being of our families depends upon the blessing of God. In this scripture we are taught that the only way to obtain that blessing is to live in the fear of God and in obedience to him. Those that do so, in general, shall be blessed and those that ignore God’s design and plans for the family will not receive His blessing, because in God’s eyes FAMILY MATTERS.
