Family as an Enterprise (A Series Begins!)

Yesterday’s post made me think of a lot that’s wrong with the way the family is viewed.  Once our “big picture” gets fuzzy, all the pieces stop making sense.

Enterprise:   “a systematic unit of economic organization or purposeful activity.”

If we viewed the family as an enterprise, wouldn’t these issues that are so controversial unravel a bit?  Wouldn’t we see things in such a different light?

Again, I must speak as a Christian, to Christians, with God’s Word as my baseline.  Nevertheless, God’s principles work to an extent in anyone’s life.

1. If we viewed the family as an enterprise, it would completely change the way we view children.  Children who only take from the family are considered burdens; children who give back are blessings.  People want more blessing; they don’t want more burden.  It’s that simple.
2. As in yesterday’s post, viewing the family as an enterprise would cause us to view marriage differently.  It places the wife as her husband’s partner/assistant–what the Bible calls a “help suitable for him”.   This understanding doesn’t place the wife under oppression–it elevates her to a place of importance.  In God’s design, a family can’t be all it was intended without the husband and wife working together toward the same goal–COMPLEMENTING  each other in their specific gifts.  Oh that we could see the simplicity of it!
3. The family as an enterprise means economic growth and production, and a wise use of resources.  (It’s a green family, really 😉  Stuff should be happening–in a practical way–to supplement the family economy.  (I’m not suggesting every family needs a home business–I’m talking even on a simpler level of just cooking real food, finding cheaper ways of living, canning from the garden–practical ways to stretch the budget by saving and production.
4. The family enterprise is a center of outreach for the needs around it.  How few programs and government assistance would be needed if we all cared more about our neighbors and spent that extra money helping someone in need instead of buying a new “whatever we don’t need”? 

Can we shake off the shackles of self-fulfillment and regain a vision of  the unity God intended in families–that unity that extends to communities and ultimately is the glue that holds the nation together?

May God be gracious to resurrect the vision of family.

AND…

I got so excited thinking through this post that I decided to do a series called “Family Enterprise” taking a day for each topic to talk about specific ways the family can be a hub of economic growth, production and conservation.  I plan to cover at least the following topics complete with examples, photos and ideas:

Saving money through:

Decorating

Utilities

Bartering

Homemade gifts

Recycling

Using natural resources

Homemade vs. commercial

Making money through:

Selling (yard sales, Ebay, etc.)

Using your gifts

Other…

I’m sure much of the information will be some of what I’ve discussed here before, but I’m hoping it is worth repeating, and covers more details in a more organized way.

Get your ideas and input ready!