A Happy Home in 4 Simple Steps

A happy home doesn’t just happen—happy homes are cultivated by hard work.

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But by God’s grace and with his help, you can start cultivating a happy home today.

The first step in this “home improvement” process is to prize your family.

To prize your family means you start by getting your priorities in the right order—both in the vertical and in the horizontal realms.

The vertical realm

God commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).

It all begins with a healthy fear of the Lord. Without the triune God at the blazing center of all our affections, life—including our family—is basically meaningless.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). More than anything else on the planet, we need a Godward orientation in everything we think, say, and do. Jesus says to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will come to fruition (Matt. 6:33).

Husbands and wives, fathers and mothers (and singles who aspire to these roles): Set your minds on things above (Col. 3:1-3). First things first. Keep the main thing the main thing.

The horizontal realm

Once you’ve done a hard reset on your priorities—with the one true God at the core—begin to value the things God values.

Note then that God values the family.

In the earliest chapters of the Bible, God places a premium on human flourishing, and he does so by means of the family, the most basic unit of society. Throughout the Old Testament and into the New, God brings blessing via the family. God has a glorious plan for the world through Christ (whose family line, by the way, takes up the first half chapter of Matthew’s Gospel), and it starts in the home. Moms and dads, brothers and sisters all matter in God’s blueprint for the future. Indeed God values the family.

But to put it closer to home—pun intended—God values your family.

It’s no accident that the Lord placed you in your particular family. Your bloodlines are not a coincidence. Your genealogy didn’t come by random chance. Rather, it was by divine design.

So don’t miss the opportunity to love your family well. Care about your family. Connect with your family.

God prizes your family. So should you.

Next week: Step #2—Praise Your Family