Is There Hope for the Family?
Psalm 127

When we talk about the family, most of us would rather not answer this question, because there is good news and bad news.

It’s like the doctor who called his patient in and said, “I have some good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”

“Give me the good news first.”

“Okay. Your tests are back and you have three days to live.”

“That’s the good news?! For Heaven’s sake, what’s the bad news?”

“My receptionist has been trying to get hold of you for the past two days!”

When it comes to discussing the condition of the family, there is a deep wish inside all of us that we could enjoy it with the same humor. The family has undergone tremendous attacks from within and without. Hollywood has laughed at it and Satan has tried to destroy it. It doesn’t matter if you are a single-parented family or a family with a mother and father under the same roof—there are forces seeking its destruction!

If I came to every one of you and offered the ingredients for having a perfect mate with perfect children, and if I had half a dozen families confirm the success of these ingredients, we would not have enough room in our church for the multitude that would be here to hear this message.

Some of you are probably already saying to yourself, Too bad it’s not true! But I want to surprise all of you today by telling you it is true. The problem is the Bible is the last place many people look for advice on raising our children. And yet the Bible is the best place to look. Families have been listening to Dr. Spock instead of Dr. Jesus! However, the good news is you will have the answer after reading this sermon. Is there hope for the family? There is hope in the Word of God. Let's listen to the psalmist.

The psalmist begins by telling us, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it:  except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” When we translate the text, the word "house" may refer either to an ordinary dwelling, the temple, as a place of worship, or a family.

The problem in many of our families exists because we try to build them without God’s involvement. Most families operate just like I do when I work with cheap tools. Usually when I buy an inexpensive tool that looks easy to operate, I bring it home, take it out of the box, and start using it. Heavy-duty tools, which are more expensive and complex, are usually brought home and pulled out of the box just like the cheaper ones. However, before I operate them, I look for a small booklet or sheet which contains the instructions. No matter how complicated the device, when I have good directions and follow them, operation is simplified.

Now don’t miss the difference in my process. There are two deciding factors, cost and complication, which determine how I treat the expensive tools. They cost too much money to mess up and are too complicated to operate without directions.

Ladies and gentlemen, your families are worth too much to mess up and are too complicated to operate without the Manufacturer’s instructions. The family has value because Jesus paid the ultimate price, His life, for our lives. The family is often very complicated because each member has a different personality. This fragile institution God has ordained can only be preserved when we follow the instructions found in His Word, the Bible.

And so the psalmist reminds us except we involve the Lord in our families, our labor is in vain. It is not successful because of how much money you bring home, the car you ride around in, or the size of your three- or four-bedroom home. If your family’s success is based upon these things, it is like a city with a false sense of security in its night watchman. Unless our families are kept under God’s strong arm of protection, we watch in vain.

It matters not how early we rise to make a living and support our families. It doesn’t matter how late we work at night—in verse 2 we are reminded without the Lord, it is in vain. The happiness of your family does not rest exclusively in the amount of money you make! Having a lot of money will not make your family strong. As stated in the last line of Nehemiah 8:10, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

You see, the family has a high level of importance in the Plan of God. Paul speaks about the husband and wife relationship in Ephesians 5:25-31, and explains in verse 32, “This is a mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.” When Paul refers to “a mystery,” he refers to something that was previously hidden, but is now revealed or disclosed. Paul unveiled “The Plan!”

God needed an example on Earth that would reflect the relationship He has in Heaven with the Church. So He created the family. Ever wonder why there is such an attack on the family today? It is because Satan understands the family’s role in the Plan of God.

In verse 3, we are reminded that our children are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is God’s reward. In other words, they are not an interruption in our lifestyle. They are not some of life’s inconveniences! They are a blessing!

Even if you are not married or a parent, Satan will try to destroy you with low self-esteem or a spirit of defeat. Why? Because he doesn’t want you to remember you are a blessing from the Lord!

Sometimes as parents, we all feel like Bill Cosby, who once said the perfect child would be born at age 21 and formally introduced to his or her parents with a job! Children are expensive. Men and women, you will not always be able to drive the car you want when you have children. You may not be able to afford the house you want to live in when you have children. You may not be able to travel as much as you want to when you have children. But the Bible tells us kids are a heritage, a blessing.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle-income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
   * $8,896.66 a year,
   * $741.38 a month, or
   * $171.08 a week.
   * That's a mere $24.24 a day!
   * Just over a dollar an hour.

 

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be rich. Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?
   * Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
   * Glimpses of God every day.
   * Giggles under the covers every night.
   * More love than your heart can hold.
   * Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
   * Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
   * A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
   * A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
   * Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

 

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
   * finger-paint,
   * carve pumpkins,
   * play hide-and-seek,
   * catch lightning bugs, and
   * never stop believing in Santa Claus.

 

You have an excuse to:
   * keep reading the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet,
   * watch Saturday morning cartoons,
   * go to Disney movies, and
   * wish on stars.

I can see some of you savvy, business-minded people saying, “That’s not bad for $160,140.00.”

Raising children doesn’t require purchasing them designer jeans or rooms and rooms full of toys. It means, however, a commitment to giving them the necessities of life—food, shelter, and most importantly, your love—as you prepare them to be godly children who will grow up to be godly adults and godly parents.

No matter what your relationship is or was like with your parents, there will be something embedded in you that is like them! It may be your demeanor, or it can even be the way you talk or walk!

Verse 4 reminds us children are like arrows in the hand of a mighty man. When the Bible uses the male gender, the message is not exclusive of females. In fact, it can be interpreted, Before the arrows are launched into the air, the strong hands of the mighty man or woman direct them. Our job is to instruct them in the way of the Lord.

The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Adam Clarke’s commentary said,

“Start when that child is able to talk and understand. Then when he or she comes to the point where they are able to walk alone, and to choose, teach them how to conduct themselves in every step they take. Show them the duties, the dangers, and the blessings of the path; give them directions how to perform the duties, how to escape the dangers, and how to secure the blessings, which all lie ahead.”

When this takes place, parents, you will see the fruits of your labor. The Bible tells us the man or woman who has a quiver full of children is happy! Is there hope for the family? Yes, there is Hope—in the Word of God!

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