IT BEGINS FROM THE HOME

Family is the smallest unit of the society. It is a social unit living together. The home is that location where members of the family live together per time. May I remind you that a family is made up of a man and a woman, joined together in marriage. Subsequently it grows when children are born by these two individuals.

The home is that environment that offers affection, security, knowledge as well as support to every member of the family. These elements of the home help family members grow develop and become what and who they were destined to be.

When it comes to moulding Values, the home is the kitchen where most people’s values are prepared. No wonder it is said that, charity begins at home. The question is, do you have a home? What exactly happens in your home?

“Love your neighbor; as yourself” is an age long quote that is scriptural and ever relevant. We usually consider our neigh-bours to be the people living within the same compound in different apartments with us. They could also be the person whose house is located next after ours. However a closer look at the commandment and deeper thought would reveal that our neigh-bours are those in closest proximity to us as individuals, not structures. This is because, Love is not expressed on buildings or apartments, but on people.

To this extent therefore, one’s neighbor should begin with those who live closely with them. For instance, a husband’s first neighbor is his wife and vice versa. This is followed by the children, then any other person living in that home with them.

When we say that value begins from the home, we mean that inculcating the right values begins from the home. Every home should have its own values; its own core values, by which every member of the home lives. It is these core values of the home that would help those living in the home to understand what it means to have core values and which values are beneficial. If a child grows up not understanding values and knowing how to adopt the right ones, it would be difficult for that child to live by values in mind, as they grow.

If Love is a core value in a home, every member of that home should feel loved, it is this affection they share in the home that they take out and share with others outside. If Respect for others is a core value in the home, every member of the home should enjoy it, and then they can live it out in their interactions with other people.

It is the immediate responsibility of the parents to ensure that the right values are perpetuated. They should set the values, then model it, teach it and enforce it. The greatest and most important task is the modeling.

In most well run organizations, stakeholders (staff, customers, shareholders, contractors) applaud the management and directors for running the organization in line with the organization’s core values.

If you are a parent, will your children be proud of how you are raising or raised them? If you are grown, are you planning to have a family which ‘stakeholders’ will be proud to be raised in?