The first and the most important institution that God established is the institution of the home. The home is vital to a community, a city, a state, and yes, the country. Many churches have lost their emphasis on the family. Don’t get me wrong—doctrine is important to preach and teach, but if we don’t have the next generation that is brought up and trained right, biblical doctrine will be lost!

The family structure is vital! I know in our present time all of us are busy. We have rent or mortgage, car payments, bills, investments, college, and other “important” things to pay and save up for. It seems like we are so busy “making a living” for our family that we are losing a life with our family. We work so much for our family that we neglect time with our family. I have never heard of someone saying, “Man, I just spend way too much time with my family and not enough time at work.” Often I hear the opposite.  

J. Paul Getty was worth $6 billion (approximately $21 billion in today’s market). He was ranked as the 67th richest American who ever lived. He was a very successful businessman with a great drive to accumulate wealth and succeed in the business world. He was married and divorced five times. Getty was quoted as saying, "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure." Needless to say, his business was more important to him than his family. During the twilight of Getty’s life, he was interviewed and was asked, “Is there anything in your life you wished you possessed?”  His answer: “I envy a happily married couple.”

Mr. Getty was a very successful businessman but when life was about to be over, he didn’t say, “I wish I had spent more time at work.” No, he said, “I have never been given to envy—save for the envy I feel toward those people who have the ability to make a marriage work and endure happily.”