So Goes the Nation

As the family goes . . .

The most important unit in the entire universe is the family. Think it through. Family affects church, school, community, nation, and the world. Pope John Paul II, a pope from Poland, said this: “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”  When a family tears apart, it affects the very fabric of the world. 

This is why marriage matters. When a family is torn apart, it affects everything. Not only does it affect us today, it affects us tomorrow, next year, the next decade, and the next generations. I see it all around me. You’ll see it, too, if you’ll open your eyes and look. Recognize how many issues your family faces because of brokenness in marriages and families.

When generations are affected by broken homes and broken marriages, it affects how we look at life and relationships; how we view commitment to jobs and to people we love. It affects how we respond in our churches and communities. Thus, so goes the nation and expands to our world.

Can we honestly sing “All to Jesus I surrender,” “Lord I am fondly, earnestly longing into Thy Holy likeness to grow,” or “He is Mighty to Save!” when our marriages are crumbling; when we refuse to rebuild what is broken?!  It takes two to tangle and it takes two to build. Yet, one person tearing down does not mean the other needs to participate.

Healing the land

Marriage matters. It matters not only because God said it matters, but because we know that, as goes the family, so goes the nation. So goes the world.

Perhaps instead of decrying the wickedness of our country, we should look at ourselves, beginning with our marriages. Perhaps we should wrestle with the heart of the nation by wrestling our hearts with God’s. Instead of looking outward at the depravation in our nation we ought to look at the depravation in our hearts for the things we permit that tear down our families.

This is why God said, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”       

Marriage matters, folks. Let’s begin in our homes. Because, as goes the family, so goes the nation, and so goes the world.