Times are dark and the devil lurks; materialism, immorality, disrespect, and violence destroy marriage and family. Every marriage and broken family that suffers a blow strikes our society. Every broken family increases social spending, and every child who drops out of school poses a problem for our educational system, which must produce graduates to become entrepreneurs, professionals, or workers.
Treating each other poorly in marriage brings no gain, because in divorce or separation nobody wins, especially when children are involved. Quite often, even during a division of property, both people lose out because they do not recover the true value of their sweat and effort for what they sell.
Children are separated from their parents; what used to be freely accessible at any moment turns into having to schedule an appointment as a parent to see them or have them visit. There are countless arrangements and verbal agreements, but the heart feels and hurts when your child is not home with you. That is the great concern.
To the worldly system, so that evil continues to grow, divorce and separation seem to have become normal. It is easy to hear a child say their mother and father are no longer together—something that used to hurt to hear because parents respected each other and protected what they had to avoid hurting the children. Nowadays, people commit adultery out of vengeance; for example, if the woman commits adultery, the man does the same or vice versa, to prove he is paying evil with evil.
Many young people who end up in prison, in police custody, or wandering the streets in gangs are not solely to blame; if you look at their background, how much they went through because their parents failed to protect the marriage and family. Letting the marriage and family slip away—such as failing to raise children, partying, and wasting utility money—ultimately causes the loss of the home and forces the family to live apart. This issue has a triple impact on parents, children, and our society.
We must all read in our Bibles what God’s word says in:
Genesis 2:24
Ephesians 5:22-33
Malachi 2:16
Matthew 5:27-30
Matthew 19:4-6
Keep in mind that drugs, alcohol, pornography, adultery, gambling, poor financial management, bad behavior, bad company, jealousy, and manipulation are enemies of marriage. People do not realize the value of something until they lose it.
Ephesians 6:1-4 explains the conduct children and parents should have in the home. The lives of parents must be an example and a testimony before their children. Christ Jesus is the head of the Church, the father is the head of the household, the mother is his helper, and children must obey their parents; and all must obey the Lord.
A very heavy responsibility rests on the shoulders of parents: to protect their home and children, because children are a gift from God. Keep your family in mind, take care of your marriage, protect your children, and pay attention and care at all times. Place your family and marriage in the hands of the Lord. Sincerely, Pastor Marcel Balootje.