The Need for a Strong Black Family, by Samuel L. Madison

He writes, "The world is different today, and the challenge of keeping the genuine Christian family from becoming an 'endangered species' is perhaps more difficult now than it has ever been. That's the bad news."

The good news, Mr. Swindoll goes on to say, is that the biblical principles for raising a family have not changed. But there is one requirement on our part--authenticity. Only those families whose faith is genuine will survive. So, if we are going to meet the challenge before us-- that of building genuine Christian families--we must keep it real - authenticity.

Mr. Swindoll contends in his article that as the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, they too faced an intimidating challenge--to penetrate the pagan culture. Israel was moving into a new stage of their existence as a nation. The first had been slavery in Egypt. The second was the stage of wilderness wanderings. Now they were about to move into a period unlike anything they had known before. To prepare them for this challenge, Moses gathered the Israelites, and gave them the essentials of an authentic faith, that would not only help their families to survive, but their nation to survive as well.

1. The first essential of an authentic faith for the Israelites and for black America as well, is for us to love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul. For Israel to survive successfully in the land, parents had to be permeated by a love for God. Notice with me the Word of God on this matter:

"Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgements which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land wither ye go to possess it: That thou mighest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee...Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." (Deuteronomy 6:1-5).

Notice in this passage it was essential for parents to pass down to their posterity a reverential fear and a deep and abiding love for their wonderful God. It was of the utmost importance for the generation of their posterity to possess knowledge of loving, serving, and worshipping God and God alone. This kind of allencompassing love for God is an authentic and genuine faith, to be passed down to their children and grandchildren.

2. The second essential of an authentic faith is regarding the truth of God's Word. For there to be an authentic faith in the Christian home, the parents must consistently pass down God's truth to their children. But first, the parents must have that truth in their own hearts.

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, And shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

Let us notice here something that is of utmost significance. When we are transferring our faith to our children; it must be seen as true and authentic in accordance with the Word of God, otherwise, we will be seen as imposters having betrayed our faith in Christ, who is the embodiment of true Christianity.

Much of society today reflects a superficial faith in Christianity. Much of the reason we are witnessing such turmoil in society today, results from having a superficial faith in regard to Christianity.

Today's generation of youth have witnessed too much of a disparity between that which they have observed in the lives of professing Christians in their homes, and the lessons taught to them in their Sunday School classes, and the message preached to them from the pulpit in Sunday morning services. Thus, many of them have come to see the entire Christian faith as being nothing but a farce.

Above all else, the home should be a place where an authentic faith is both nurtured and practiced in accordance with the Word of God.

3. The third essential of an authentic faith is regarding our response toward affluence. The Israelites experienced much temptation when they entered Canaan, the land of milk and honey. Notice with me in the Word of God:

"And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers...to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not,...when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him...Ye shall not go after other gods of the gods of the people which are round about you." (Deuteronomy 6: 10-14).

The Israelites would go from an impoverished life in the wilderness to a wealthy life in Canaan--from a life of manna to a land flowing with milk and honey. But notice that the Lord's advice to them in the midst of such affluence is to remind them not to forget to honor the Lord as the true source of their blessings.

4. The fourth essential ingredient for families to be strong and to possess an authentic faith is to acquire "a tender, humble heart of gratitude for God's blessings."

Oh, how often do we see this kind of attitude prevailing in the lives of God's people today. We are too quick to forget the lesson the Psalmist proclaims in Psalm 103:2: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not his benefits."

If African-American families are going to survive as strong families in today's society, we must have an authentic faith.