CREATING A GLORIOUS NATION USING THE FAMILY AS AN AGENT OF TRANSFORMATION.

Introduction

It is a known fact that the family is the smallest unit of the larger society. What happens in the smallest unit goes a long way to impacting the entire nation for good or the other way round. For there to be a changed nation, there must be a new outlook in our family structure.

THE PRACTICAL MAKING OF A GLORIOUS FAMILY.

The ills we experience in the family is as a result of lack of presence of some vital ingredients for family development. Religious affiliation is not even the problem here. The main problem is the implementation and functionality of some of the ingredients. For instance, I can say I Love You, but if I can not help you with washing your cloths when you are sick or giving you stipend when I know for sure that you do not have a penny, then the love I have for you is fake.

Some of the ingredients necessary to bring about a glorious nation using the family as a case study is not limited to:

1. Time

2. Communication

3. Vision

4. Agape Love

TIME

The number one cause of the numerous contemporary social problems we witness daily in the society is knitted to this simple four letter word “TIME.”

Time has made families to be totally separated and broken, leaving the children shattered. It is a known fact that a broken home produces a broken child, a broken child paves way for a broken adult, a broken adult breeds a broken family, and the broken family births broken children, thereby bring about a broken nation, and the circle continues till we have a world in shambles.

This is the era whereby husbands and wives pursue after career and wealth and forget about their children’s emotional welfare. The children do not even get to see their father often not to talk of having a meaningful conversation with him. The absence of a father figure in their lives makes them indulge in vices that will even shock the parents. Parents should know that providing for the children alone is not what makes the children outstanding. For example, when you decide to start a poultry business and all you do is buy feeds from the market and just dump in the feeders and leave without doing the daily routine of checks and maintenance in the poultry house and making sure all is well with the birds, you will wake up one morning and find out that all the birds are dead due to your lack of proper care. So, it is the same with a family where spending time together is old fashion.

If families are told the efficacy of spending time together and what it can result to, and if well implemented, it will go a long way in shaping the nation.

COMMUNICATION

This is another ingredient worthy of note in our families. Lack of proper communication can break up a family in minutes. Communication is like a twin brother to Time. When you do not create time for your family, communication can not flourish. For example, the wife may have something to tell the husband, but the man is busy with his laptop working on a business presentation and he shouts at the wife to leave him alone. The wife will leave him alone, but the problem remains. Another instance is that of the children who desire to have a heart to heart talk with their father, but unluckily for them, the man is like a pharaoh in the house whom everyone fears. The house is always tensed that no one even knows what next will come their way.

This has caused a lot of children to find solace in joining gangs and indulging in substance abuse. For a change to come there must be a turn around of this trend in the family if we desire a great nation.

VISION

Though vision is a little but mighty weapon in the arsenal of the family, this is so because it gives the family focus. For instance, before a man and a woman become husband and wife, there was first a meeting and a date was established which paved the way for engagement and resulted to wedding. Before the wedding, plans were made that will guide the future family. Same applies to the general running of the family in this century. Families have not clearly defined why they are together and what they intend to achieve and this has caused a serious loophole in the institution.

To solve this problem, families most sit and draft out vision and mission statements that will serve as a guide to them.

AGAPE LOVE

Last on my list is that of Love. No family can thrive on the bedrock of hatred. Yes, we all know about the divers types of love (Eros, Philio, Agape Stooge), but we misplace agape type of love to be the God kind of love.

Agape love is the strongest of all kinds of love and it is result-oriented.

Husband and wife can practice agape in their home. One of the rules of agape love is that it forgives wrong doing easily and gives to the unmerited.

One can not fathom the efficacy of agape love because it is out of this world and it does not just operate by Chance, it comes with hard work.

If agape love can be practiced in all our families in relation with philio and stooge, I strongly believe that our homes will be a better place and a heaven on earth.

CONCLUSION

Based on the above discuss if the church can draft out programs and projects directed towards the dissemination of these ingredients, I believe it will go a long way in reshaping families and mending families with challenges.

WRTTEN BY BRAIMOH SIMPA

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