The Family Dinner Table

Last night as our Trail Life leaders were giving the boys lessons on how to properly set a table combined with lessons on chivalry I was watching a group of young men including my son sitting around the table engaged with questions and an eagerness to learn knowing that these young group of boys are the future of our homes, our churches, our communities, and our nation. As I sat there, I started to reflect upon the condition of our society and the direction that this current generation is heading and how we got here.

We are on the verge of losing a whole generation of kids. We can blame our political leaders, we can blame the media, we can blame our public schools & universities, we can even try to justify placing the blame on our churches but ultimately we must take responsibility as parents and realize that we are on the cusp of losing an entire generation is because we have lost “The Family Dinner Table.”

For our house our dinner table throughout the day can become a place where all of our junk, clutter and mess accumulates. The table often gets ignored during the day but then dinner time rolls around and its time to clear off the mess and get the table ready for a hot meal. Our kids sometimes argue over who’s turn it is to set the table so then they both happily do it with a little grumbling. The places are set, the food is served, the blessing is asked and the dog takes her rightful place under the table patiently awaiting my kids to slip her some goodies.

From this point on we proceed to indulge in good food, meaningful conversation, the kids asking to get up and go use the bathroom, and trying to keep the dog off our feet.

While we live in busy times with busy schedules, we don’t always have the chance to gather around our dinner table every night but the majority of meals take place around that monstrosity that sits in the middle of our dining room that most of the time we regard as an inconvenience.

Many houses today are being built without dining rooms and it shows what kind of culture our children are growing up in. Many say there is no point in having a dining room much less a dining room table because we are just too busy. Many are disregarding this important place and piece of furniture without realizing the consequences and impact that this seemingly harmless decision will have on future generations. Its not just a place and a table but it is a lifestyle.

Our time at the family dinner table is a time where we laugh, joke, spill our food, wait for the dog to clean up the mess, tell stories, and debate about who’s turn it is to clear the table.

But most importantly this is a place where we all come together as a family and meet not only with each other but with God. We talk about the Scriptures. We talk about what it means to respect each other even if we disagree. We stress the importance of what it means to stand upon the Word of God in a world that has absolutely no regard for it anymore.

We begin to fully realize how we started losing this generation and it did not happen over night but slowly, over time, and it started at the dinner table by slowly fazing it out of our lives out of convenience. The biblical and moral values that were instilled in generations past came at the expense of the “Family Dinner Table” lifestyle. We used to sit down and talk with each other, learn about each other, even if we disagreed, we at least respected each other. Our kids were taught about having strong virtues and principles. This lifestyle takes sacrifice, patience, and some inconvenience. Our kids are worth it. Our future depends upon it.

“The enemy of America today is not Iraq. It is not Afghanistan or communism. It is not Somalian pirates. It’s the moral degradation and spiritual complacency of Americans,” contended Barna, founder of the research firm The Barna Group. “In essence it is the willingness of Americans to become victims of the imposition of values and objectives that defy our common good.”

We can’t blame our politicians, our media, our schools, our churches, our devices but we only have ourselves to blame. Today we have a whole generation of young people making decisions without any regard for God, accountability or the impact that their decisions will have on their kids one day.

Why is our nation in the shape that its in? Why are our communities and churches in the shape that they are in?

We have lost “The Family Dinner Table.”

If we lose our homes, we lose our churches…..

If we lose our churches, we lose our communities…..

If we lose our communities, we lose our nation…..

Accountability. Morals. Values. Principles. All combined with a strong reverence for our Creator as the foundation of it all. The way to win back this generation and the coming generations……..Bring back The Family Dinner Table. It starts in the home.

Resource:

https://www.christianpost.com/news/george-barna-america-is-being-destroyed-inside-out.html