By

Shelby G. Floyd

A joyful congregation is made up of joyful people who have joyful homes. Most people want to have a happy home. To have a happy home is no accident. It involves work, planning and cooperation. Above all else, a happy home is a home that respects and abides by God’s instructions for each member of the family.

A happy home has a husband that loves his wife as he loves himself: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her;” “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself” (Ephesians 5:25, 28). He provides for the material well-being of the family (1 Timothy 5:8), and he also provides the spiritual training for the children (Ephesians 6:4; Proverbs 22:6). This involves correction and discipline (Proverbs 29:15, 17). His goal should be to govern his home well (1 Timothy 3:4-5).

In a happy home the wife and mother also have responsibilities. She is to be a virtuous and faithful wife (Proverbs 12:4; 31:10-30). She is to avoid a brawling and quarrelsome spirit (Proverbs 21:9). As she matures, she is to teach and train the younger women to love their husbands and children (Titus 2:3-5; 1 Timothy 5:14).

It is also incumbent upon the children to recognize and carry out their God given responsibilities in order for the home to be all that it should be. From the beginning children have been commanded by God to respect and obey their parents (Matthew 15:4; Exodus 20:12). In the ideal home a wise son or daughter will hear and heed the instruction of the father and mother (Proverbs 1:8; 3:1, 3). Paul states that this was the first command of God with a promise attached to it—long life upon the earth (Ephesians 6:1-3).

Copyright © 2019 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142