The other day I was browsing the comments on a Facebook video. The video was a comedic sketch about growing up with older brothers, and the comedian made a comment about having four children and having people constantly comment about how large his family is. One comment said how beautiful it was that he had a largish family. Someone else responded to that comment with, “You must be religious.” Still other comments were quite rude concerning large families.
I think these comments are symptomatic of a trend in culture to degrade marriage and family life. Marriage and family are no longer valued as social institutions. If you are concerned about marriage and family you must be “one of those” religious people, because the “normal culture” just doesn’t care.
A failure by our culture to value family is a huge mistake, and social science proves it! Marriage is an investment for all individuals and for society. Among many other benefits it protects against delinquency and increases concern for others.
Social science research shows that:
• Children from intact families have fewer behavioral problems in school.
• Young men from two-parent families have the lowest risk of committing a violent crime.
• People who marry are more likely to worship regularly, which in turn has many beneficial effects.
• Individuals who regularly attend religious services are more likely to feel concern for the disadvantaged and to donate time or money to charity.
Have you let your children know about the many benefits that they receive from your marriage?
Talk with them about it! You can also download this fact sheet to share the true value of marriage and family life in our culture.