In the beginning of time when God made Adam, He saw that he was lonely and gave him a woman named Eve, as his wife (Genesis 2:18). In the beginning, we had family and God was the head. It was very clear that God didn’t want anyone to be alone but wanted everyone to be surrounded by people they love.
The devil's primary role from the dawn of time was to give the family unit a knockout punch, starting with deceiving Eve. The domino effect continued with their children Cain and Abel, with one violently killing the other with no apparent remorse. “I am not my brother’s keeper'' (Genesis 4:9). Throughout biblical history, we see the family system has gone on a downward spiral and many years later, things are far worse.
The family structure is now drowning and gasping its last breath. We have families with no male figure to lead, lack of deep intimate bonds, and reproductive dysfunctionality.
Absence of male figures
With a rise in single parent female headed households, a lot of family units have no biblical representation of what family is, and how it should be. There has been an increase of men opting out of marriage commitment but wanting all the benefits, and more women having babies with the father's section of the birth certificate completely blank.
It was God’s design for a man to be the head of the household (Ephesians 5:23). If my architectural instincts are correct, if a house is poorly designed whenever a disaster occurs, that house would more than likely fall into rubbles. The mass exodus of men from the family unit is eroding God’s framework, and the devil is capitalizing on this weakness as he continues to introduce the forbidden fruit: that poisonous apple of death and destruction.
Lack of deep intimate bonds and inability to receive God's love
When we think of family we think of love, care, affection, community and the list goes on. The family is an institution where loyalty, brotherhood, and sisterhood bonds are planted that will one day grow up to be towering trees of love and intimacy.
But what happens when that seed is washed away by indifference, lack of empathy, betrayal, dishonesty, hurt, and pain instead of a bright, evergreen forest? A dark, eerie jungle is created in its place. The family is meant to be a place of comfort but with the harshness of men's heart increasing, the only safe zone has turned into a battle zone, and because of the curse of sin and disobedience to God's law, where will everyone go?
People who have been unloved struggle to believe that they’re loved by God and they suffer from low self-esteem, and often make very poor life decisions.
Reproductive dysfunctionality
The Family is like a body, with different core functions that work in one accord for the mutual benefit of the other. Certain values and norms that are cancerous in nature affect the whole wellbeing of the body, and any offspring created from that body. Inherited dysfunction happens when a family is unhealthy, and these habits and traits are passed down throughout generations.
For example, a family in which drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and other unhealthy addictions are prominent, these addictions are passed down from the old to the young. Chaotic behaviors are normal, become accepted, and all members suffer from serious mental or emotional damages as a result. When Christ is not the centre of a family, chaos grows like wildfire within that family.
The devil's goal is to kill, steal, and destroy and for a family that doesn’t have a Godly framework, that’s easy picking for him to seek and destroy.
Being your brother's keeper
In conclusion, I say this firmly: Be your brother’s keeper! Let’s be the generation to turn back the tides of sin and destruction and replace them with hope and love. I implore all men to answer to their callings as husbands and leaders of the household. I implore our families to be restored to its Godly design.
Ask ourselves, “How can I help to restore my family?” Seek God wholeheartedly and He will show you the path to take.
My name is Marko Dewar, I am 26 yrs old from Kingston, Jamaica currently residing in Chicago, Illinois. I am an aspiring author and life coach. I received Jesus in 2017 and I have made a commitment to live for him. I became a young writer with Christian Today through recommendation from Darren Salmon.