Families Over the Years
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Over the years families have changed from the way they were during Biblical and Pioneer times until now. The importance and role of the family in today's culture seems almost gone.
In Biblical times, family had a big role in society. In the Old Testament one's family was the source of one's identity. One was known by the tribe he was a part of, and by who your father was. The father was the head of the household and everyone looked up to him and showed him respect. If they were not respectful, there were dire consequences. Family is also a source of comfort. In Psalm 68:6 it says: “God sets the lonely in families.†Without a family, how could you have any identity?
In Pioneer times families were important for survival. In the hard life those people led, everyone had to pitch in and help or else they would go hungry. Families back then were also quite large by today's standards. Most families probably had at least 4 children -- if not more. The would stick together through tough times, and were very loyal to each other. If the families weren't strong the whole way of life would have rotted away. There were challenges too, having a family is not easy, but they learned to work together.
Today many people seem not to see the importance of family. Everyone in a family seems to go their own way -- the children to school, the parents to work. Some parents even decide that they can't cope with it anymore, and get divorced. Their children are then raised in a home where there aren't many strong, enduring, values, so they often get into trouble.
There are some, however, that believe in good families and are trying to reinstate traditional values in the home. They know that having a strong family is an essential part of raising good children. These parents often teach their children at home so they can educate them in a Biblical way, and teach them about God without the secular world teaching them that there is no absolute truth.
Even though in today's culture families seem to have little value, the few who believe in the family are working to turn that around.