Family is More Important Than Freedom

The family system seems to be weakening in the modern times. The rates of divorces are rising. Marriages are fast replaced by live-in relationships. A large number of children are born out of wedlock and they do not know the names of their fathers. They are brought up by the single mothers. The high rates of divorces and remarriages have created a situation when the family many consist of children born with different parents. Desmond Tutu said, "You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." He appears to be wrong today since people can chose their family.

The breaking of the family system can be directly attributed to the desire of the man to have freedom at any cost. People today prefer freedom and they find family as the hindrance in the freedom. Family also means a great responsibility since you have to take care of your children and your spouse. There are many other aspects of being in the family. For example, everyone has to change himself or herself to adjust to the culture of the family. The father is not merely a man but a father and a husband. The children and the wife have certain expectation from him. He cannot behave like a bachelor and he must use decent language and show good behavior in the family. He has to modify his behaviors so that the children likes him. He must be compassionate to his children and wife. Similarly, the children too must follow the discipline of the family.

Thus family means not only love and care but also responsibility. Yet people love their family since that is the only place where they are special and their love is guaranteed despite their weaknesses. While friends and colleagues can change, family can never ditch you. The relationship between the parents and the children is based on blood and that is unchangeable. You can leave your friend if you don't like him, but you cannot change your parents. This compulsion forces the every member of the family to compromise and finding a way to solve the problem since they cannot leave each other.

Yet, a family is not merely a responsibility but also an asset since you always have few people whose love and support can be taken for granted. You feel secure since you are never alone. Dan Wilcox said, "I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he is rich."

When a person is healthy and young, he may not have much need of the family. However, in the hours of crisis, a family provides physical and mental support. Thus family is also like insurance. While the hospitals, governments and insurance companies can provide medical insurance for the physical ailments, it is only family which provides relief to the mind and the soul.

It is, therefore, important to understand the importance of the family. Only if a man has learned to live in a family, he can learn to live in a society which is nothing but a bigger family. A nation is made of many such societies. Thus a strong society also means a stronger nation. Hence a nation without strong family value system cannot survive long. It is soon to lose its freedom as a stronger nation may soon win it over. Then the entire country may lose the freedom.

About this Author

Life is a mystery which can not be explained either by science or by scriptures. Truth has a body and a soul which we call science and religion. Contrary to popular perception, they are not opposed to each other but complement each other like body and soul. In fact, they can not exist without each other.

I am the founding member of The Science of Soul Foundation in India which works for the synthesis of the diverse disciplines of knowledge like science, religion, philosophy and arts. The website of the foundation is http://www.scienceofsoul.com

I am working for the creation of a synthesis between science and religion through my articles. I believe that everyone can understand this Truth by the use of intuition and reason. You can contact me at aksinghirs [a] yahoo.com if you wish to know more about the mystery which we call life.

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