How to keep a family intact part 3

continuation...


But there are brothers and sisters who do not care for each other. There are siblings who, because of money, parcels of land, and inheritance, bring each other to court. In our group, we do not let that thing happen. The brethren in the church are not supposed to bring each other to court; but most especially if you belong to the same family. If in a family of five exists divisiveness, how much more will you ever understand one another if there are already one hundred in the group. If understanding is not attained in a small group, much more in bigger groups? The family is a model of the church, because a church is considered a family, or a household, of God. Let us read I Timothy 3:15—

“But if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

The house of God is the church of God. A household is made up of members. Who comprises the household? Ephesians 2:19 says—

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints, and the household of God.”

The church is being considered as a “household of God”. And the brethren in the household of God should love another.

If there is one thing that I can brag about our group, it is about the love that our members have for each other. Our brethren do not bring each other to court. We do not allow that thing to happen. If the brethren in the flesh should care for each other, the more should the brethren in God do. That is why in our group, we do not let our less fortunate brother die of hunger in the streets. We look after them. That is a doctrine of Christ.

A household is parallel with the church; and the church is referred to as the household of God. The ruler of a household is likewise likened to a caretaker of the church. In I Timothy 3:5, it says—

“For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?”

If a man does not have the capacity to manage his own household, how do you expect him to manage the church of God? Therefore, the ability to manage the church is manifested in the way a man manages his own home. This is the reason why the church is compared to a household. Both need a systematic management. And to attain that, the love of the family members for each other is a must. The parents should always keep a close tab of their children; they should find time for their children. Unfortunately, there are parents who do not have time for their children. Sometimes, they are not even aware that their children have been loitering in the streets. My heart breaks every time I see very young children selling sampaguita garlands in the streets. Some of them are begging for alms from passers-by. If I only have the money, I will adopt all of those children. How dare the parents of those children are letting those kids beg for alms? Apparently, the children are the ones working for their parents, which is contrary to what the Bible teaches. II Corinthians 12:14 says—

“… for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.”

In other words, the parents are the ones who should support their children, and not the other way around. Actually, one particular church leader in Metro Manila sends his “children” out and let them beg, while he is inside his palace, simply waiting for their remittances. I even heard that a week is not enough to count his weekly collections. This is also true with the other pastor often seen in Quirino Grandstand (in Luneta Park). When he asked how much their collection in a given week was, he said that he didn’t know because they were not through yet counting their collection for the previous week. Can you imagine the huge amount of money that pastors make? They enrich themselves at the expense of their members.

In a household, especially in a household of God, it is not the children who are supposed to earn for their parents. The parents are the ones tasked to work and earn for their children. In the household of God, the responsibility is vested on the shoulders of the parents. It is the responsibility of the mother and the father to feed their children. However, the moment the children have grown old, the responsibility is transferred to the children. When that time comes, the children will now be tasked of looking after the needs of their parents. This will be their turn to show their indebtedness and gratitude to them.

In maintaining a family, you need to have love, care, and understanding. You need to be selfless. But of all these, the most important requisite is love because if there is love, all the rest follow. One song says, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Actually, you do not really have to say you are sorry because even before saying “sorry” you are readily forgiven. If only every family would possess the holy love, or agape, then, no problem would arise. Every time you are seduced by your pretty secretary, you would always be reminded of God’s commandment – love your wife. Do not show any interest in somebody else’s wife. The wife should do the same. Because you love your husband, you will never even entertain the idea of trying another man. Stick to each other. That should be your policy from the very beginning. Never play around! The moment you try playing around, there would be a big possibility that you’ll forget all about your wife. Later on, you’ll just find yourself doing this thing repeatedly. Before you knew it, you have already become a womanizer.

But if you love your family, you will stick to your wife. God has a promise to a family that dwells in love. Proverbs 3:33—

“The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.”

God promised to bless the house of the just, and curse the house of the wicked. Do you want to receive God’s blessings? Other people think that God’s blessings refer to material riches. That is not so! Even of you are short of finances, so long as you are leading a peaceful life; that is already a great blessing from God. A peaceful life is a lot better than riches. A house whose inhabitants live in peace is better than a mansion whose inhabitants aim a gun at each other.

The blessings of God will be given to a family who abides by what the Bible teaches. And when God blesses you, you will see that nobody among your children would give you any problem. Nobody would turn out to be a drug addict; nobody among them would be engaged in any trouble, like theft and rape; nobody would be a drunkard. Even if you are financially hard up, you will not experience any problem. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful life? It doesn’t matter if your pocket only has a ten-peso bill. There are people who have lots of money in their pocket but their lives are beleaguered by a number of court cases. The child is involved in drug trafficking; the wife has been caught committing adultery; the son was apprehended in a pot session, etc. Perhaps, if we would be in the same situation, we would even wish for death. It does not matter if you are poor, so long as your children love another, and all of them are God-fearing. God will surely bless your family. Nobody among the members of your family would be afflicted with serious ailments. Should one of them gets sick, would just be simple fever, toothache, headache. When God gives you His blessings, you’ll never want. You may be short of money, you may lack prestige, you may not have earned any college degree, but you have peace of mind and deep within you there is joy. This is how important the word of God is to a household. The word of God should be followed, and when you follow it, you are likened to a wise man who built his house upon a rock. The flood came, a strong wind blew, but the house remained standing. If the word of God prevails in a household, that household would be indestructible. Nobody could break the family members apart, not even the gossip mongers, because it is built upon a rock, and the rock refers to the word of God.

It is always nice seeing a family attending a Christian gathering together. It is always nice to see a family whose members abide by the doctrines of God and of Christ.

We, the members of this congregation, are truly happy despite our lack of money. Many of us are poor; we do not live in cozy houses. However, we know how to help each other. If one group cleans our surroundings, the other group washes the dishes, etc. When visitors come, there is also another group that accommodates them. And they do those things voluntarily because they have seen for themselves how beautiful life is if it is spent in serving God and our fellowmen. And we are very proud of it. We hope that all of us learn how to smile to our fellows; let us give them a warm reception. Let us learn to love God because He created us all. And of course, let us love our family – our wife, our husband, and our children.