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1 day ago

Greg Dingey

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Examining the Bible, Scripture does not provide us with an example of the  “perfect family” because we all have flaws and limitations, and even those individuals who loved the Lord fervently throughout Scripture struggled with family issues brought on by their own sins and the problems of the culture in which they lived. Nevertheless, God, through His wisdom and love, instituted the family unit. He created the first man and woman, united them as one flesh, and exhorted them to be fruitful and multiply, to have children ( Genesis 1:27-28;2:23-24). Obviously not all married couples are able or choose to have children and I believe God understands that. There are nonetheless many blessings and much to be gained and learned in  marriage relationships.

As Balswick & Balswick (2014), explained, an optimal martial and strong parent/child relationship is one where the family is united ( i.e. two-parent nuclear family) and there is unconditional bilateral commitment. However, our authors do acknowledge that unlike God, humans are imperfect beings. It can be down right near impossible sometimes to live up to the standards / principles God had set for a united family institution. If a man and woman first commit to love God more so than each other or their own children, then I believe the two-parent nuclear family can be the best form and institution of family in our society. If they put God first and foremost in their lives, then they will experience a deeper sense of satisfaction in their marriage and family life with their children.

According to outside research, children growing up in homes where two parents who have been married continuously are less likely to experience a wide range of problems (academic, social, emotional, cognitive), not only in childhood but later on in adulthood as well. Family intactness has a beneficial influence on reducing out of wedlock births, increasing high school and college graduation rates, and even has long-term benefits such as higher employment rates. Overall, intact families tend to be more stable; parents tend to be more involved in their children’s lives and are more highly invested in their children’s success (Brown, Manning, & Stykes 2015). The positive factors associated with two-parent families are much longer than what I briefly mentioned according to some research articles I found. These nuggets of information alone begin to paint a picture for me at least as to why the two-parent nuclear family is the best form and institution of family in our current society. 

 

References

Balswick, J. O., & Balswick, J. K. (2014). The family: A Christian perspective on the 

Contemporary home (4th ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.

Brown, S. L., Manning, W. D., & Stykes, J. B. (2015). Family Structure and Child Well-being: 

Integrating Family Complexity: Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(1), 177-190.

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