Prohibitions And Invitations In The Fourth Commandment
Adult study
The Big Ten
Another Look At The Ten Commandments
The first table of the Law (Commandments One through Three) deals with our relationship with God. God alone is God. He has a name. He has a day. Our devotion to him alone is the highest good. The way we use his name and the way we use his day indicate our relationship or lack of relationship with him.
The second table of the Law (Commandments Four through Ten) deals with human relationships. The very first Commandment in the second table is about the family. We learn how to relate, or how not to relate, to other people in our families. The watchwords for this Commandment about the family are honor and respect.
It may help to look at the Fourth Commandment about the family by using a square as a model. Consider the four sides of the family square shown on the next page. (See the book for a visual.)
(1) Honor parents
(4) Holy home
FAMILY
(2) Honor all in
���authority
(3) Honor and respect lead to
����quality and quantity of life
The first side of the family square is honor and respect for parents. This is the clear and fundamental meaning of the Fourth Commandment. Honor and respect don't mean absolute obedience. That is reserved for God alone. Parents, like children, are sinners. They make mistakes. For their own good, this Commandment calls upon children to look to their parents with reverence and when they are small, seek to follow what they are told. When the children are adults, this word from God calls upon them to treat parents with respect.
The Fourth Commandment calls parents to be honorable. Parents who lie or cheat or commit adultery easily forget that the children are watching. The holy home is built on parents who, while they are not perfect, seek to have integrity in their words and deeds.
The second side of the square is honoring all who are in authority. In The Small Catechism, Martin Luther points out that this Commandment calls us to respect, obey, love, and serve all those in authority over us. Of course, this obedience to those who are over us in the orders of society is not absolute obedience. Absolute obedience is reserved for God alone, but we are called to honor and respect all in authority in church, school, government, and other areas of our lives unless they violate our covenant with God as the highest authority. When those in positions of authority violate their trust, and try to order us to do the same, we are called to obey God rather than man (Acts 4:18-20).
Those in places of authority are called to show obedience to God and have integrity in behavior. This Commandment calls all who are in places of responsibility in the orders of society to be honorable. A father who lies, a pastor who is immoral, or a president who commits adultery, will have to answer to God for misleading those for whom they are responsible.
The third side of the family square is the promise of long life to those who honor and respect their elders. Does this promise really mean that those who follow this Command will live longer than those who do not? No, that clearly is not the case. Many disobedient people live long lives. Many who love God and his Commandments die early. One possibility is that this promise of long life means that if you show honor and respect in your family, you will live longer than you would if you neglect to show that honor and respect. Conflict in the family often gets internalized and causes sickness. Stress can hasten death, but is it just the quantity of days that increases when we heed this admonition? I don't think so. I think that obeying this Commandment includes quality as well as quantity of days. When there is a clear intention of showing honor and respect for those over us -- and being honorable and having integrity with those for whom we have responsibility -- everyone's quality of life goes up.
The fourth side of the family square has to do with building a holy home built on the foundation of honor and respect. Building a holy home has to do with all the other three sides of the square called family. Respect for parents and all in authority over us; being honorable to those for whom we have responsibility and having a high quality family life are all involved with building a holy home.
In contrast to a holy home, for many people today, the home is little more than a large telephone booth where arrangements are made to leave.
A Large Telephone Booth Where Arrangements Are Made To Leave
Think about it. The family and the home are in serious trouble today because everyone is on the go, usually in different directions. Everyone seems to be caught in the chaos of busyness, obligations, sports, television, noise, jobs, long hours away from the family, and the demands made on us by others. In other words, the modern home all too often is a place which we constantly leave. A phone call is made or the phone rings and off people go. The holy home is built on honor and respect. That means we take time together, time to communicate, time to listen, time to pray. The biblical corrective for the alluring, attractive distractions of life today is taking the initiative and providing quality time for family members.
Winston Churchill once remarked, "Some people make things happen. They are the achievers. Some people watch things happen. They are the professional critics. And some people don't know things happen. They are the sleepers." Today, some people seem to be asleep in relationship to the breakdown of the home. They just don't see what is happening. Others are critical of what is happening, but do little or nothing to change it. Still, others make a difference by taking the initiative and trying to restore the home to the place it was given by God. This chapter is intended as an encouragement to those who not only see the problem and criticize what is happening to the family, but seek to make a difference by their actions.
How could people be sleepers when it seems so apparent that serious damage is being done daily to the institution of family and the Christian home? Over half of American marriages today end in divorce. Single family homes are on a radical increase. Homes with the only parent working, trying to make ends meet, with the children left to others to raise, are on the rise. Second, third, and fourth marriages leave children in the wilderness wondering who they are, whose they are, and what they are supposed to do. Many parents are going in so many directions that little time is spent on the nurturing and care of the children. Ethical relativism is taught in our schools and our society. The lack of belief in ethical absolutes causes chaos everywhere. How could anyone be asleep through all this chaos? Chaos is catching. Do we have to succumb?
The launching pad for taking action to restore the family to a central place in life and to make holy homes is the restoration of honor and respect. Critical analysis is not enough. If many modern homes are little more than large telephone booths where arrangements are made to leave, isn't there something that we can do about it? Can't we find some ways to turn these large telephone booths into holy homes? Can't we do more than analyze what is wrong? The Fourth Commandment gives us a launching pad to take the initiative against the destruction of home life and the activism that is all too typical of modern life.
Honor and respect. We need not only stand against the immorality of our times which is ruining our lives. We need to stand for something -- honor and respect for God and one another. Is it possible to recover a reverence for the home and family? Yes, I believe it is. It isn't easy, but it isn't impossible. We may never get to the promised land on this one, but that is no excuse for not taking the initiative in the right direction. We don't have to stay in bondage. We can start the journey, the end of which we may not fully know until we die and see our Father in our heavenly home.
Let's look at the functions of the family and consider some practical ways to make our homes holy.
The Functions Of The Family
Dolores Curran, a Roman Catholic author, columnist, and family consultant, says that there are five traditional functions of the family. Consider economic, protective, religious, educational, and status-conferring factors as you think about the ways in which you and your family might take the initiative against what is happening to the family today and try to build a holy home on the solid foundation of honor and respect.
1.
Economic. Traditionally in our society, the man was the breadwinner and the woman the homemaker. Today, those roles have broken down. Often both husband and wife work. Often the responsibilities of home and children are neglected. Sometimes the new pattern of both parents working is necessary because the family cannot survive on one income. Single moms (or single dads) have to work to put bread on the table. They must use a day care center. But, sometimes both husband and wife work outside the home because the couple wants luxuries that cannot be otherwise purchased. In this latter situation, shouldn't a re-evaluation of priorities be made so that one or the other of the parents stays home to provide more quality time with small children?
My daughter, Mary Cousler, is writing a book titled, Mommyhood.
In that book she tells of the time when in order to make ends meet, she and her husband were both working. They had their son in a day care center. When Mary went to pick up her son one day, she was shocked to see that he was more attached to the day care provider than to her. There and then, Mary and her husband decided that something had to change.
Today, Mary is a stay-at-home mom. She has three sons. Her husband works three jobs to help pay the bills. That is not a perfect solution, but it is better in their minds than both parents working and the three children being raised by someone else.
In her book, Mary urges support for the stay-at-home moms who are fighting an uphill battle in today's society to provide a holy home for their spouses and children. She says that she is not putting down working mothers, but that stay-at-home-moms need encouragement.
One parent staying home is not an option in all situations. One parent staying home is certainly not the only way to rebuild respect and honor for parents and the home, but isn't stay-at-home motherhood (or fatherhood) a neglected option which more Christian couples should consider today?
In addition to the economic factor, consider the protective, religious, educational, and status-conferring factors in building a holy home.
2.
Protective. Traditionally, the family has been a place of safety from our enemies and a place to find solace for our souls. Don't children need a sense of security and safety today? Doesn't a holy home mean that the home is a shelter for those who live in it? When children are protected by love and discipline, aren't they more likely to honor and respect their parents?
3.
Religious. Children need to be taught that their home is a church and their church is a home. Part of the initiative against the oppressive forces that are destroying the home today is for the partnership of these two great institutions: the home and the church. We need to pass on the stories of our faith and what God has done in history to our children. A holy home and a church that cares about the family both focus on Bible stories. Storytelling at home around shared meals and at bedtime are parts of a plan to build a holy home in which there is respect and honor for all family members.
4.
Educational. Passing on the truths of the past from one generation to the next and teaching children how to think is not only the function of the school, but the home. Passing on a Christian world-view takes time, but is well worth the effort, especially when there are such diverse and disruptive philosophies of the secular world.
5.
Status-conferring. In a holy home where honor and respect are more than words, children gain self-esteem and confidence for living. By observing honor and respect in the words and deeds of parents, character is built. By observing honor and respect shown to God, other family members and those outside the family, children learn to imitate that kind of honor and respect.
No easy answers please, but aren't these five factors needed to examine the biblical admonition to show honor and respect to those over us in the Lord? There is no panacea for what is wrong with families today, but we need to take the initiative in these areas, not just react to what society dictates. Different Christian families will find different ways to answer the questions raised in these and other areas. But, aren't all Christians called to look carefully at values in these categories in the light of the Fourth Commandment which calls for honor and respect for God and parents and home?
To take the initiative against the potential destruction of the family today, Christians need to do more than complain. They need to be encouraged not to quit the uphill battle to restore honor and respect to the home.
I am reminded of a Catholic nun who entered a convent of a special order where she took a vow of silence. Every ten years she had the opportunity to say something to the Mother Superior about her experience of the last ten years. She was confined to using only two words when she spoke. After the first ten years, Mother Superior called her into the office and said, "Sister, you have been with us for ten years. You can break your vow of silence and say two words."
"Work's hard," said the nun. Then she went back to her job.
Ten years passed. Again, Mother Superior said, "You have been with us twenty years. This is your second opportunity to say two words."
"Food's bad," said the nun. Then she returned to her duties.
Ten years later Mother Superior called her in again. "Since you have been with us thirty years, you may speak two more words."
"I quit," said the nun.
"That doesn't surprise me a bit," replied Mother Superior. "All you've done for thirty years is complain."
When it comes to the modern family, the work is hard, the food is not always the most expensive kind, and at times we feel like we want to quit. This chapter is intended as an encouragement not to quit.
You don't have to agree with the practical suggestions in this chapter, but you are urged to keep the words "honor" and "respect" in your mind daily and find ways to build a holy home whether your family is the traditional husband, wife, and two children, you are a widow or a widower, or you are a single or divorced mom or dad struggling against great odds in a crooked and perverse world. As Peter said on Pentecost, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation" (Acts 2:40). Let me add, "Save your family from this crooked generation, too."
The Fourth Commandment is a prohibition against making the home and the family a part of the crooked generation in which we live, but it is also an invitation to build a Christian home on biblical values that work.
Let me put all that I have tried to say another way. When all else fails, why not go back to the directions? The directions for a well-lived life are in the Bible. The directions for a holy home are in the Fourth Commandment. The summary of these directions is to show honor and respect for the family.
Questions For Your Personal Consideration And/Or Group Discussion
1.
Read Proverbs 22:6. How does this apply today?
2.
Read Ephesians 6:1-4. What application does this passage have?
3.
If a visitor from Mars said to you, "Take me to your leader," to whom would you go?
4.
Discuss this quotati n: "The day a child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent. The day he forgives them, he becomes an adult. The day he forgives himself, he becomes wise."
5.
Which of these are needed for a holy home?
___ a Christ-like climate
___ the fragrance of love
___ the feel of faith
___ the example of selfless good deeds done by parents
___ honor and respect
___ a sense of safety and caring
___ the example of understanding and gratitude
6.
Discuss Proverbs 13:24.
What is good about discipline?
What is going too far?
7.
Read Acts 4:18-20 and discuss this passage in the light of the Fourth Commandment.
Digging Deeper
1.
Read Deuteronomy 6:6-9. What needs to be taught to children to give them a sense of God?
2.
Read Deuteronomy 6:13-15. What difference does it make what God we worship?
3.
Read Psalm 78:5-7. What should we do for the next generation?
4.
What difference does expressed gratitude make for children who observe it between parents and hear it from parents?
5.
Turning away from griping and toward gratitude in the family is one of the most important ways to make a holy home. For help in this area, see my book, Turning Griping Into Gratitude (CSS Publishing Company, Lima, Ohio, 2000). It is a book on Psalms with discussion questions at the end of each chapter that can be used in families, in groups, or in classes to help people to advance in their communication of gratitude to God and one another.
6.
Steve Allen, the comedian, was the chairman of the Parents Television Council. In his book, Vulgarians At The Gate (Prometheus Books, 2001), Allen says,
The coarsening of our entire culture is by no means a simple matter. But oppose it we must, for the consequences or rearing millions of initially innocent children in a social atmosphere characterized by vulgarity, violence, brutish manners, the collapse of the family, and general disrespect for traditional codes of conduct is to chill the blood of even the most tolerant observers.
7.
We may never get to the promised land in making our homes into holy places, but that is no excuse not to start the journey.
The second table of the Law (Commandments Four through Ten) deals with human relationships. The very first Commandment in the second table is about the family. We learn how to relate, or how not to relate, to other people in our families. The watchwords for this Commandment about the family are honor and respect.
It may help to look at the Fourth Commandment about the family by using a square as a model. Consider the four sides of the family square shown on the next page. (See the book for a visual.)
(1) Honor parents
(4) Holy home
FAMILY
(2) Honor all in
���authority
(3) Honor and respect lead to
����quality and quantity of life
The first side of the family square is honor and respect for parents. This is the clear and fundamental meaning of the Fourth Commandment. Honor and respect don't mean absolute obedience. That is reserved for God alone. Parents, like children, are sinners. They make mistakes. For their own good, this Commandment calls upon children to look to their parents with reverence and when they are small, seek to follow what they are told. When the children are adults, this word from God calls upon them to treat parents with respect.
The Fourth Commandment calls parents to be honorable. Parents who lie or cheat or commit adultery easily forget that the children are watching. The holy home is built on parents who, while they are not perfect, seek to have integrity in their words and deeds.
The second side of the square is honoring all who are in authority. In The Small Catechism, Martin Luther points out that this Commandment calls us to respect, obey, love, and serve all those in authority over us. Of course, this obedience to those who are over us in the orders of society is not absolute obedience. Absolute obedience is reserved for God alone, but we are called to honor and respect all in authority in church, school, government, and other areas of our lives unless they violate our covenant with God as the highest authority. When those in positions of authority violate their trust, and try to order us to do the same, we are called to obey God rather than man (Acts 4:18-20).
Those in places of authority are called to show obedience to God and have integrity in behavior. This Commandment calls all who are in places of responsibility in the orders of society to be honorable. A father who lies, a pastor who is immoral, or a president who commits adultery, will have to answer to God for misleading those for whom they are responsible.
The third side of the family square is the promise of long life to those who honor and respect their elders. Does this promise really mean that those who follow this Command will live longer than those who do not? No, that clearly is not the case. Many disobedient people live long lives. Many who love God and his Commandments die early. One possibility is that this promise of long life means that if you show honor and respect in your family, you will live longer than you would if you neglect to show that honor and respect. Conflict in the family often gets internalized and causes sickness. Stress can hasten death, but is it just the quantity of days that increases when we heed this admonition? I don't think so. I think that obeying this Commandment includes quality as well as quantity of days. When there is a clear intention of showing honor and respect for those over us -- and being honorable and having integrity with those for whom we have responsibility -- everyone's quality of life goes up.
The fourth side of the family square has to do with building a holy home built on the foundation of honor and respect. Building a holy home has to do with all the other three sides of the square called family. Respect for parents and all in authority over us; being honorable to those for whom we have responsibility and having a high quality family life are all involved with building a holy home.
In contrast to a holy home, for many people today, the home is little more than a large telephone booth where arrangements are made to leave.
A Large Telephone Booth Where Arrangements Are Made To Leave
Think about it. The family and the home are in serious trouble today because everyone is on the go, usually in different directions. Everyone seems to be caught in the chaos of busyness, obligations, sports, television, noise, jobs, long hours away from the family, and the demands made on us by others. In other words, the modern home all too often is a place which we constantly leave. A phone call is made or the phone rings and off people go. The holy home is built on honor and respect. That means we take time together, time to communicate, time to listen, time to pray. The biblical corrective for the alluring, attractive distractions of life today is taking the initiative and providing quality time for family members.
Winston Churchill once remarked, "Some people make things happen. They are the achievers. Some people watch things happen. They are the professional critics. And some people don't know things happen. They are the sleepers." Today, some people seem to be asleep in relationship to the breakdown of the home. They just don't see what is happening. Others are critical of what is happening, but do little or nothing to change it. Still, others make a difference by taking the initiative and trying to restore the home to the place it was given by God. This chapter is intended as an encouragement to those who not only see the problem and criticize what is happening to the family, but seek to make a difference by their actions.
How could people be sleepers when it seems so apparent that serious damage is being done daily to the institution of family and the Christian home? Over half of American marriages today end in divorce. Single family homes are on a radical increase. Homes with the only parent working, trying to make ends meet, with the children left to others to raise, are on the rise. Second, third, and fourth marriages leave children in the wilderness wondering who they are, whose they are, and what they are supposed to do. Many parents are going in so many directions that little time is spent on the nurturing and care of the children. Ethical relativism is taught in our schools and our society. The lack of belief in ethical absolutes causes chaos everywhere. How could anyone be asleep through all this chaos? Chaos is catching. Do we have to succumb?
The launching pad for taking action to restore the family to a central place in life and to make holy homes is the restoration of honor and respect. Critical analysis is not enough. If many modern homes are little more than large telephone booths where arrangements are made to leave, isn't there something that we can do about it? Can't we find some ways to turn these large telephone booths into holy homes? Can't we do more than analyze what is wrong? The Fourth Commandment gives us a launching pad to take the initiative against the destruction of home life and the activism that is all too typical of modern life.
Honor and respect. We need not only stand against the immorality of our times which is ruining our lives. We need to stand for something -- honor and respect for God and one another. Is it possible to recover a reverence for the home and family? Yes, I believe it is. It isn't easy, but it isn't impossible. We may never get to the promised land on this one, but that is no excuse for not taking the initiative in the right direction. We don't have to stay in bondage. We can start the journey, the end of which we may not fully know until we die and see our Father in our heavenly home.
Let's look at the functions of the family and consider some practical ways to make our homes holy.
The Functions Of The Family
Dolores Curran, a Roman Catholic author, columnist, and family consultant, says that there are five traditional functions of the family. Consider economic, protective, religious, educational, and status-conferring factors as you think about the ways in which you and your family might take the initiative against what is happening to the family today and try to build a holy home on the solid foundation of honor and respect.
1.
Economic. Traditionally in our society, the man was the breadwinner and the woman the homemaker. Today, those roles have broken down. Often both husband and wife work. Often the responsibilities of home and children are neglected. Sometimes the new pattern of both parents working is necessary because the family cannot survive on one income. Single moms (or single dads) have to work to put bread on the table. They must use a day care center. But, sometimes both husband and wife work outside the home because the couple wants luxuries that cannot be otherwise purchased. In this latter situation, shouldn't a re-evaluation of priorities be made so that one or the other of the parents stays home to provide more quality time with small children?
My daughter, Mary Cousler, is writing a book titled, Mommyhood.
In that book she tells of the time when in order to make ends meet, she and her husband were both working. They had their son in a day care center. When Mary went to pick up her son one day, she was shocked to see that he was more attached to the day care provider than to her. There and then, Mary and her husband decided that something had to change.
Today, Mary is a stay-at-home mom. She has three sons. Her husband works three jobs to help pay the bills. That is not a perfect solution, but it is better in their minds than both parents working and the three children being raised by someone else.
In her book, Mary urges support for the stay-at-home moms who are fighting an uphill battle in today's society to provide a holy home for their spouses and children. She says that she is not putting down working mothers, but that stay-at-home-moms need encouragement.
One parent staying home is not an option in all situations. One parent staying home is certainly not the only way to rebuild respect and honor for parents and the home, but isn't stay-at-home motherhood (or fatherhood) a neglected option which more Christian couples should consider today?
In addition to the economic factor, consider the protective, religious, educational, and status-conferring factors in building a holy home.
2.
Protective. Traditionally, the family has been a place of safety from our enemies and a place to find solace for our souls. Don't children need a sense of security and safety today? Doesn't a holy home mean that the home is a shelter for those who live in it? When children are protected by love and discipline, aren't they more likely to honor and respect their parents?
3.
Religious. Children need to be taught that their home is a church and their church is a home. Part of the initiative against the oppressive forces that are destroying the home today is for the partnership of these two great institutions: the home and the church. We need to pass on the stories of our faith and what God has done in history to our children. A holy home and a church that cares about the family both focus on Bible stories. Storytelling at home around shared meals and at bedtime are parts of a plan to build a holy home in which there is respect and honor for all family members.
4.
Educational. Passing on the truths of the past from one generation to the next and teaching children how to think is not only the function of the school, but the home. Passing on a Christian world-view takes time, but is well worth the effort, especially when there are such diverse and disruptive philosophies of the secular world.
5.
Status-conferring. In a holy home where honor and respect are more than words, children gain self-esteem and confidence for living. By observing honor and respect in the words and deeds of parents, character is built. By observing honor and respect shown to God, other family members and those outside the family, children learn to imitate that kind of honor and respect.
No easy answers please, but aren't these five factors needed to examine the biblical admonition to show honor and respect to those over us in the Lord? There is no panacea for what is wrong with families today, but we need to take the initiative in these areas, not just react to what society dictates. Different Christian families will find different ways to answer the questions raised in these and other areas. But, aren't all Christians called to look carefully at values in these categories in the light of the Fourth Commandment which calls for honor and respect for God and parents and home?
To take the initiative against the potential destruction of the family today, Christians need to do more than complain. They need to be encouraged not to quit the uphill battle to restore honor and respect to the home.
I am reminded of a Catholic nun who entered a convent of a special order where she took a vow of silence. Every ten years she had the opportunity to say something to the Mother Superior about her experience of the last ten years. She was confined to using only two words when she spoke. After the first ten years, Mother Superior called her into the office and said, "Sister, you have been with us for ten years. You can break your vow of silence and say two words."
"Work's hard," said the nun. Then she went back to her job.
Ten years passed. Again, Mother Superior said, "You have been with us twenty years. This is your second opportunity to say two words."
"Food's bad," said the nun. Then she returned to her duties.
Ten years later Mother Superior called her in again. "Since you have been with us thirty years, you may speak two more words."
"I quit," said the nun.
"That doesn't surprise me a bit," replied Mother Superior. "All you've done for thirty years is complain."
When it comes to the modern family, the work is hard, the food is not always the most expensive kind, and at times we feel like we want to quit. This chapter is intended as an encouragement not to quit.
You don't have to agree with the practical suggestions in this chapter, but you are urged to keep the words "honor" and "respect" in your mind daily and find ways to build a holy home whether your family is the traditional husband, wife, and two children, you are a widow or a widower, or you are a single or divorced mom or dad struggling against great odds in a crooked and perverse world. As Peter said on Pentecost, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation" (Acts 2:40). Let me add, "Save your family from this crooked generation, too."
The Fourth Commandment is a prohibition against making the home and the family a part of the crooked generation in which we live, but it is also an invitation to build a Christian home on biblical values that work.
Let me put all that I have tried to say another way. When all else fails, why not go back to the directions? The directions for a well-lived life are in the Bible. The directions for a holy home are in the Fourth Commandment. The summary of these directions is to show honor and respect for the family.
Questions For Your Personal Consideration And/Or Group Discussion
1.
Read Proverbs 22:6. How does this apply today?
2.
Read Ephesians 6:1-4. What application does this passage have?
3.
If a visitor from Mars said to you, "Take me to your leader," to whom would you go?
4.
Discuss this quotati n: "The day a child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent. The day he forgives them, he becomes an adult. The day he forgives himself, he becomes wise."
5.
Which of these are needed for a holy home?
___ a Christ-like climate
___ the fragrance of love
___ the feel of faith
___ the example of selfless good deeds done by parents
___ honor and respect
___ a sense of safety and caring
___ the example of understanding and gratitude
6.
Discuss Proverbs 13:24.
What is good about discipline?
What is going too far?
7.
Read Acts 4:18-20 and discuss this passage in the light of the Fourth Commandment.
Digging Deeper
1.
Read Deuteronomy 6:6-9. What needs to be taught to children to give them a sense of God?
2.
Read Deuteronomy 6:13-15. What difference does it make what God we worship?
3.
Read Psalm 78:5-7. What should we do for the next generation?
4.
What difference does expressed gratitude make for children who observe it between parents and hear it from parents?
5.
Turning away from griping and toward gratitude in the family is one of the most important ways to make a holy home. For help in this area, see my book, Turning Griping Into Gratitude (CSS Publishing Company, Lima, Ohio, 2000). It is a book on Psalms with discussion questions at the end of each chapter that can be used in families, in groups, or in classes to help people to advance in their communication of gratitude to God and one another.
6.
Steve Allen, the comedian, was the chairman of the Parents Television Council. In his book, Vulgarians At The Gate (Prometheus Books, 2001), Allen says,
The coarsening of our entire culture is by no means a simple matter. But oppose it we must, for the consequences or rearing millions of initially innocent children in a social atmosphere characterized by vulgarity, violence, brutish manners, the collapse of the family, and general disrespect for traditional codes of conduct is to chill the blood of even the most tolerant observers.
7.
We may never get to the promised land in making our homes into holy places, but that is no excuse not to start the journey.
