JESUS AND SOCIALIZATION

Jesus and Socialization

Carmen Garcia

Fresno Pacific University

How would our society look if we took the teachings of Jesus out of the Bible and

applied them to our marriage, to our raising of children and to our community? The world would

be a nice place for us to raise a family, as His teaching emphasized love, patience and discipline,

qualities that help to develop, nourish and sustain healthy families and social bonds.

The word of God has a lot to say about marriage: How we are to leave our childhood

families to start are own families; How husbands and wives should treat each other; how parents

should raise their children, and so on. In the Old and New Testament we read about God saying

to us how to form strong emotional and social bonds through marriage. In the bible God says

Havent you read, He replied, that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,

and said, For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and

the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has

joined together, let man not separate (Matthew 19:4-6). With this scripture we are told that men

and women must leave their parents and live together in order to become one from the Bibles

point of view, marriage is not just something the law recognizes, but it is a holy union blessed by

God. We must nourish our marriages so it cannot easily be torn apart from societys influences.

In todays society it is very hard and challenging to become one. Many of us do not

know how to treat our spouses the way we should. However, if we study Gods word we can see

how this can be done. Gods word gives us practical advice for spouses. It tells husbands:

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with

respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life so that nothing will

hinder your prayers (1Peter 3:7). Husbands are told to respect their wives as they too are

heirs.of the gracious gift of life. To sum this up, husbands are reminded that their wives are

also made by our creator. As Gods creation, wives are to be respected. Likewise wives are also
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given instruction on how to treat their husbands. Wives are told: Wives, submit to your

husbands as to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22).The idea of submitting is not that wives take any

form of abuse or inconsiderate demands, for if the husband walks in the way of God, he will not

make any demands that go against the will of God. Here, then are the guidelines for how

husbands and wives can live their lives in fruitful ways. Being able to handle lifes demands as

instructed by God is important for keeping peace in the home-one that may eventually be blessed

with children.

When it is time to add children into the marriage, the Bible also gives wise instruction on

how to raise them. The Bible tells us that children are a gift from the Lord (Psalms 127:3b).

We are not the owners of our children, as they belong to God first. Instead we are reminded

that we are to treat them like precious gifts with love. Part of our responsibility to these

precious gifts, is meeting their basic and emotional needs in their young years. The bible says

which of you if his son asks for bread will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish will give

him a snake (Matthew 7:9-10). In the same way God provides for our needs we must be

reminded to meet our childrens basic and emotional needs. Beyond living meeting an infants

needs helps to develop emotional and social connections between child and parents, as it is

through the meeting of theses need the child learns that they are truly wanted and loved. But

meeting the basic and emotional needs of children is only part of it.

The Bible wisely reminds us that we are to discipline our children. We are told to correct

our childrens behavior and teach them right for wrong. In the book of Proverbs we are told to

correct our children with some good swats on their bottoms (Proverbs 13:24a), however most

parents are afraid of this due to different rights their child has now, and how the child is told in

public schools that they can call Child protective services or the police if their parents spank
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them. For Christian parents, such a law creates problems. On the one hand the Bible recognizes

that spanking is sometimes an effective way to redirect a childs attention. On the other hand, it is

scary of being accused of child abuse when the intention of many parents is to correct their

children, and spanking is one of many tools they have as their right. For those that believe in this,

a swat to the bottom is not a crime. The word of God goes on to say, but if we love our children

we will discipline them when they need it (Proverbs 13:24b).

Finally, the scriptures tell us how we are to treat each other in our community. In the

book of Philippians second chapter verse 4, we are reminded not to look out only for ourselves.

Instead, we are to be concerned for other as well. This makes sense not only for practical

reasons-in the sense that children must eventually socialize outside their own home. We as

Christians are instructed to be concerned for other families and commune with them through

God.

If we applied the teaching of the Bible to our everyday life, living how we are instructed

to live by Jesus, how much better would our communitys, marriages and families be? This is

more than wishful thinking. The bible says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and

forever (Hebrews 13:8). Our God does not change.