God’s Word Is Alive
How to Enjoy a Happy Family Life
DID you realize that God’s Word can help you to enjoy a happy family life? If the counsel it provides to family members is applied, the benefits will be great. Are you a husband? If so, consider what God’s Word says to you.
BE FAITHFUL TO YOUR WIFE
“Husbands, love your wives,” the Bible urges. “Be happy with your wife and find your joy with the girl you married. . . . Why should you give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man’s wife?”—Ephesians 5:25, 28; Proverbs 5:18-20, Today’s English Version.
If a husband will heed such Bible counsel, it will contribute to family happiness. Also, his wife will be encouraged to apply Bible counsel as well. What are wives urged to do?
RESPECT YOUR HUSBAND
“The wife should have deep respect for her husband,” God’s Word says. (Ephesians 5:33) The failure of wives to heed this counsel is a chief cause for some husbands’ resenting their wives. A wife shows respect by supporting her husband’s decisions and cooperating whole-souled with him. By fulfilling her Bible-assigned role as ‘helper and complement’ to her husband, she makes it easy for her husband to love her.—Genesis 2:18.
When children are born into a family, how are they to be reared? What counsel does God’s Word give parents?
PROVIDE CHILDREN TIME AND DISCIPLINE
As parents, you need to give of yourself to your children, spending quality time with them and providing them with wholesome instruction from God’s Word. (Deuteronomy 11:19) Part of the instruction should take the form of correction. “Foolishness is tied up with the heart of a boy,” the Bible explains, but “the rod of discipline is what will remove it far from him.” The giving of discipline, even if it includes a spanking, is an evidence of parental love, as the Bible says: “The one loving [his son] is he that does look for him with discipline.”—Proverbs 22:15; 13:24; 23:13, 14; Ephesians 6:4.
How children behave also has much to do with whether a family is happy or not. What does God’s Word urge them to do?
OBEY YOUR PARENTS
The Bible says: “Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents, for this is the right thing to do.” How serious is this? The Bible proverb indicates, by saying: “Anyone who makes fun of his father or despises his mother in her old age ought to be eaten by vultures or have his eyes picked out by wild ravens.” As you can see, to obey and respect your parents is a very serious matter to God.—Ephesians 6:1; Proverbs 30:17; TEV.
Do you really want to enjoy a happy family life? You can. It is no secret how it is achieved. The Creator of the family provided a recipe, or guide, for making a success of family living. If each member of the family will learn and apply God’s counsel, this is certain to contribute to family happiness.