| By Mark Benedict If you were born back when the most popular cars had big fins, and gas was 14 cents a gallon, (yes, I was!) you may have some generational gaps in your thinking. In the past you could look to society for for some parental support in raising your children. While we don't agree with Hillary that "it takes a village" to raise a child, (God holds parents accountable, not villages) we do agree that society used to provide positive "village" influences to support parents. In the past, social influences supported parents in raising their children to be responsible and law abiding citizens. Schools used to be extensions of parental authority, supporting the values of hard work, self control, and personal responsibility. The entertainment industry operated under well defined limits as to what they could present in TV and movies. Good manners were expected, and children were usually born into families with two parents. Society used to place a strong emphasis on keeping marriage vows. Divorce was viewed as a shameful act which carried genuine social penalties, not as a ready solution to any marital problem. Today, if you expect parental assistance from society, don't hold your breath while you wait! There are no more villages out there to help parents. The village now being proposed is not community support, but big government, ready and willing to usurp parental roles and raise our children for us. Will government do a better job of raising our children? As a society we have rejected God, and now our nation is well on the way to experiencing a growing moral jungle. This is as a natural consequence of removing God as the foundation of morality! We are living in a Post-Christian Society. As a result, parents must take countermeasures to compensate for the corrupted morals and defective world view offered our children through our decaying social institutions. It is a foolish parent who expects assistance in raising moral and upright children from a floundering nation! When Jesus came, he shook up the religious elements in Israel by his proclamation of the Good News of the Gospel. Likewise, the Bible promises the last days will bring a shaking to this world's spiritual and moral foundations. If you want your family to be standing firm and grounded in the truth of God's Word you will need to make knowing and acting on the truth a top spiritual priority.
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