How Can Families Survive in Today’s World?

In my experience as a Pastor and Biblical counselor, not a week goes by without my interaction with a family that is struggling to survive. Biblically speaking, our families are being attacked by Satan and most often, the family members who are the lamb in the jaws of the predator are children.

Sadly, many Pastors do not do counseling because they believe that they are not “qualified” to counsel, despite getting up every week in front of a congregation and delivering a message supposedly designed to help the hearers. This is because secular psychologists have convinced us that Biblical counseling is not real counseling, and Pastors need to refer people to the “experts.”

Excuse me? Since when did God cease to be an expert counselor? Those who teach that man’s way of counseling has replaced God’s counsel unfortunately think that they are “ministering” to people by teaching people that God’s Word is inferior to man’s knowledge.

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: {17} That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

God’s Word was given to us as a basis of truth (doctrine); to show us where we are going wrong (reproof); to correct our way of thinking to match His (correction); and to instruct us on how to accomplish righteousness (instruction).

Likewise, parents are admonished to teach these things to their children in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 so that they too can learn how to survive in today’s world as they get older. These verses teach that it is the parent’s responsibility to immerse their children in the Word of God so that they will grow up to love God and have the hope to survive.

Consequently, many children are being raised by parents who have no idea what the Word of God teaches. Most often it is because they do not bother to take the time to study it for themselves (2 Timothy 2:15). Secondly, many parents are not being trained by their Pastors, ministers, or any other faithful men (2 Timothy 2:1-2) in the truths of Scripture.

If Pastors, ministers, or other faithful men will not share the teaching found in the Word of God with their congregants and in their churches then how can they expect families to survive? And when the family does not survive, how can they expect our communities to survive? And when our communities do not survive, then how can they expect our nation to survive?

When our nation does not survive, how long do we think it will be that our enemies allow us to preach the Word of God openly? When that happens how long do you think it will be before our enemies will execute anyone who dares preach something contrary to their doctrine?

Simply stated, if we are not willing to stand on the written Word of God, then why do we call ourselves Pastor or ministers, or even think of ourselves as faithful? Faithful to what? Not God: not those who we supposedly minister to. A minister is someone who “serves” others. We are not “serving” others by feeding them lies we are dis-serving them!

It is us ministering to them that helps them to survive in today’s world. We teach them to look at current events through the lens of Scripture and not the words of men. May God help us to serve others by teaching them to consult God for the issues of life.