Your Future Family
the end of any higher level of humanity.
Remember this: A person who does not strive to be moral cannot be a good head of a family. He who knows no moral striving has deep spiritual defects.
You know that spiritual characteristics are inherited, just as physical traits are. But there is a second factor.
Let us assume that a person by moral struggle, through hard work, with the help of his good traits and the minimizing of his bad ones, reaches a stage in life where he is able to begin a family. On the basis of his genetic history and that of his spouse, he can expect healthy and productive children. Thus begins a stage of life with increased responsibility for the husband and wife, for father and mother.
The father does not only provide for the economic security of the family. The mother does not only provide for every family member – in particular, for her children. More than that, the family must be built from the inside. A family that merely displays an outward community, sharing a dwelling and meals, does not deserve the name.
The family should be a cradle, a home, a fortress.
A cradle! “He who is able to have children but does not is of little value” The children must be raised by both father and mother, and in the same way. M. Claudius says: “I see no other way than this. One must himself be what he wants his children to be.”
A home! Unity and cheerfulness must prevail in the home so that growing children are happy to be “at home.” Love must shine through strict discipline so that trust remains and advice can be asked for and given. Family customs strengthen the sense of community, encouraging creativity and an artistic sense. Humor should be present as well. Read old M. Claudius, who in his “Letter to Andre” writes: “I have secured a cannon that works splendidly, and makes a lot of noise. If you have a birthday, baptism or anything else to celebrate, dear Andre, let me know and I’ll treat it as if it were my own affair.” Mothers’ Day is another such celebration, when it expresses a grateful heart to a mother.
A fortress! That means a place where all family members feel secure. A fortress is not a palace. Wealth and excess make no contribution at all to building a family fortress. Better one more person and one less expensive carpet! A fortress is also protection against outside filth and trivialities. The thought of the family, above all of the noble mother, is the test for genuineness and morality. It should be a fortress in which each member of the family, the children above all, but also the mother and father, should find understanding and support in their distress and real protection against outside enemies.
If you succeed later in life in establishing such a family community for yourself and your family, you will be serving not only yourself and your children, but also your people. For from such families comes a people that is noble, brave, great and strong.