Have you ever sat down with your family and talked about your values, virtues, and mission statement?
Imagine a Christian non-profit organization without a mission statement. Or even a public company that has yet to have a clear mission or vision. How would they know if they were off course? What foundation would they base their decisions on?
Every good, quality leader of an organization understands the importance of having well-defined goals, missions, values, and visions written down. These are often displayed in the central space of an office. Employees may even sign a contract agreeing to these values and mission.
So, wouldn’t it be even more important to do this for the most important unit of our lives, our family?
How will our kids know how to make moral decisions if we haven’t defined our values and virtues already?
How will they learn, study, and practice them?
The foundation of how and why we make choices is vital. We can choose wisely when we understand the virtues, morals, and principles that guide our lives. This can save us from many mistakes and sorrows.
Starting with Virtues
Virtues are the perfect place to start. They are the cornerstone of ethics and morality, impacting how we navigate our relationships with others, ourselves, and God. If you live your life through a Christian worldview, you will find them in God’s word, the Bible. For Christians, living a virtuous life means living a life that is Christ-emulating and God-honoring.
Virtues are important for many reasons. Our behaviors reflect the virtues we find important.
Today, we have to do more work in defining these because our culture has redefined the once agreed-upon Christian/Judeo morals and values. Previously, we could count on entertainment, schools, and the general public to back up what we taught at home. Unfortunately, that’s not the case today.
Be Intentional: If you want to raise a Godly family in a Christ-centered home with Godly values and morals, you need to be intentional in that pursuit.
The Bible says:
“Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 11:19-20)
So, what virtues do YOU uphold? My challenge for you is to schedule some time to sit down with your spouse in the next month to write down your family values and virtues. Define and discuss them with your kids. Talk about practical applications of them.
For example, if patience is one of your virtues:
- How can your children practice this on the playground?
- At home?
- In the classroom?
By doing this, you’ll build a strong foundation for your family and kids to navigate the outside world. Next month, we’ll be talking about writing a family mission statement.
Well-defined values and virtues help guide your decisions and actions. It gives your family a sense of direction and purpose. Now, the next step will be to define a family mission statement.
Stay tuned for next month where we will discuss the WHY and HOW for family mission statements!
To learn more about topics just like this, join our community of mummas in the MLU Academy!
