As the serpent attacked the home in the Garden of Eden, today he is attacking the home from every side. What can we do to help the home in 2025 to be better prepared, fortified and spiritually ready to defeat the evil one from taking over our families? Good brethren, we owe it to our families and the church to have God in our lives. “Unless the LORD build the house, They labor in vain who build it;” are the words of the Psalmist (Ps. 127.1). The home is one of the greatest institutions created by God and we must do our part to give it back to Him on a daily basis. Let’s consider some practical points for homelife together.

The home begins with God and He desires the home to be the catalyst for righteousness to the world and the church. As a brother in Christ once said, “So goes the home, so goes the church and the world.” Some practical points we can learn for the home are seen in Joshua 24.15, where Joshua spoke up for his house and the assurance of them serving the LORD as a unit. When God is the focus and focal point, we should expect the man of each household to take the lead and the wife and family to follow his lead. Paul said these words, “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body” (Eph. 5.23). We need more men leading their homes and, furthermore, we need more men being led by Christ in the home (1 Cor. 11.3).

The home is in need of some foundational principles such as instruction, discipline, mercy, grace, forgiveness and, of course, love. When the home has these great attributes, it makes the church better because the people are better. When the family is ex-posed to the words of God and to Christian character, the church and society cannot help but be influenced to work righteousness and holiness. Just as the world will know us by our love, the home is to demonstrate that servile love towards one another (John 13.34-35). For this purpose, we use our words gracefully and truly seek to care for each other’s well being. Paul told the brethren at Colossae to make sure their words were with grace seasoned with salt (Col. 4.6). Speech must be tempered, tested and true in order to ensure building up and spiritual sta-bility. Just a practical point to consider.

At times in the family there are disagreements and those issues must be worked out to the best of our ability to ensure familial stability. How can we work our problems out to the glory of God and the edification of the home? We can begin by speaking truth to ourselves and asking ourselves, “what is the real issue at hand?” (Ps. 15.1-2). Many issues are not addressed because honesty is not at the forefront of the conversation. We have to be real, transparent and open to disagreement when dealing with domestic issues and controversy. When discussing how to work with our children (young or adult) or going back and forth over money concerns, we must make sure our words are pleasant, or kind (Prov 16:24). In those talks, our words must not have any corruption in them, but rather what is good for necessary edification (Eph. 4.29). Another practical tip to consider.

Unfortunately we have to talk about the distractions of life in the home. Satan hates when we are focused upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12.2). Yet, God wants us to gaze steadily upon His Son and truly obey Him from the heart. Some of the distractions we face are communication barriers, personal problems, health concerns and outside influences which cause division in the home. When we need to communicate with our family member (spouse or otherwise), we cannot instead pick time-robbing habits such as binge watching, you-tubing and unnecessary habits, but rather seek opportunities to talk and settle the issues at hand. As husbands, we must ensure our understanding of Peter’s words of dwelling with the wife according to understanding (1 Pet. 3.7).

Finally, every family structure should strive to offer redemption, consistency and hope on a daily basis. We want to encourage and promote families that do not mind forgiving and giving opportunities to be forgiven (Matt. 18.15-20). As long as people are living together in the same house, problems will arise. Fighting fairly and conflict resolution must be high on the priority list to ensure family cohesion and spirituality. As Jesus told His disciples to forgive (seven times seventy), we must do likewise and learn not to bring things up when they have been for-given (Luke 17:4). Paul said that love keeps no record of wrong (1 Cor. 13. 5). May we do our part in helping our family to be the best we can be. God is true.