Two Fathers, Two Families and Two Fates

Suppose you suffered a severely broken leg and upon arrival at the emergency room, a doctor came up to you with a large bandage and said, “This ought to fix it.” You’d probably either think the physician was out of his mind or you’d grab your smartphone and dial one of those TV lawyers to file a malpractice suit.

And yet, that’s what many of the “experts” seem to be doing in addressing the overarching ills afflicting our society today. We’ve got violence in the streets, chaos in the classrooms, anarchy wherever we look. What’s the answer? Many leaders think it’s just a matter of passing more laws, as if our country doesn’t already have enough laws to which people pay little or no attention.

 

I’m not opposed to laws. We need them, obviously. But if the nature of humankind could have been changed by laws, that would have happened long ago. The ancient Israelites had more than 1,000 laws to which they were expected to abide. That didn’t deter them from committing all manner of illegal, immoral and unethical acts of rebellion and disobedience.

 

What we don’t need are simple-minded solutions. One thing I’ve learned about everyday life is that it’s complicated. But is it unreasonable to think that with gang violence continuing to escalate in cities with the toughest gun laws, and unruly students still disrupting their classes even with the threat of expulsion hanging over their heads, maybe we need to look in a different direction for answers?

 

One place I’d suggest looking is in the home. Years ago, Hillary Clinton coined the phrase, “It takes a village,” but for raising responsible, disciplined and productive young people, history has shown that what’s even more important is a stable, caring home with parents working together.

 

Recently a friend sent out an email called “Two Fathers, Two Families, Two Fates” that showed a startling comparison of families from the same era. Consider:

 

Jonathan Edwards, one of the wisest individuals God has given America, lived in the state of New York. He was a Christian and a strong advocate of Christian training. He married a young woman of like character. From this union, a study was done of 729 of their descendants. Out of this number came 300 preachers, 65 college professors, 13 university presidents, 60 authors of good books, three U.S. congressmen, and one vice president of the United States.

 

Max Jukes also lived in New York around the same time. He did not believe in Christian training and married a woman who thought the same way. From their union the lives of 1,026 descendants were traced. Three hundred of them died prematurely. One hundred were sent to prison for an average of 13 years each, and 190 were public prostitutes. There were 100 drunkards. The expense to society for their wayward living was substantial.

 

Could it be that the difference between the two fathers, their families and the fates of their descendants was largely shaped by their disparate values, beliefs and practices? The Bible admonishes, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

 

In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, Moses described the learning environment that fathers and families should establish for their children. He wrote:

“These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe…so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all His decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life…. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:1-7).

 

Does this guarantee that if we surround our children with biblical principles and live consistently as followers of Christ that they will turn out to be model citizens? No. It’s a principle the Bible presents and not an absolute promise. I’m sure that Mr. and Mrs. Edwards’ offspring and descendants had flaws just as everyone does. But they were taught timeless, godly standards for faithful, fruitful living.

 

The Scriptures also show us the contrast. Proverbs 29:18 observes, “Where there is no [prophetic] revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” And the book of Judges concludes with this description of the people of Israel, who had rebelled against God and abandoned His teachings: “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did what seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25).

Maybe the time has come for us to forget about bandages and remedies that are temporary at best, and return to the one sure cure, prescribed by the Great Physician.