What is a Home?--It has been answered that, "It is the unit of
society." It has also been pointed out that this unit must be kept
clean, pure and right, in all its relations, or society and the state
will suffer grave consequences. Certainly, in the past, the
institutions of society and state have been seriously weakened only
when the moral decay of the family has first set in. There are many
organizations which have for their special care the fostering of the
social and political life, while the strengthening of home ties has
been sadly neglected.
To the individual the good character of the home is of the utmost
importance, for his growth in all the finer things which pertain to
morality and spirituality.
The Difference in Homes.--One ideal of a home begins and ends with the
externals; a great house, a splendid service and fine furnishings.
Everything is here made to bend to the more or less perfect
realization of this material ideal. When all is attained that is
possible in this direction, and this end, and only this end, is sought
of outer adornment, it is found that the essentials of a true home
life have been missed.
Another ideal seeks for the cultivation of love between husband and
wife, and all the members of the family. Care and forbearance are
urged and commended in speech and action. There are set forth a mutual
kindness, a careful consideration of the feelings and a helpfulness in
bearing burdens, which exalt the soul and make life worth
living. According as this ideal is striven for, and attained, will the
true home be realized.
Many a man has wrecked his business, betrayed his friends and gone
down to a dishonoured grave in the struggle to surround his family
with luxuries which he could not afford, but no man ever sincerely
tried to cultivate the graces of love and kindness in himself and in
his family, who did not succeed, in a large measure, in realizing the
great purpose of the home.
The True Home may be found, and is found, in great houses and in small
houses, where there is large wealth and where there is dire
poverty. It is not dependent upon circumstances but independent.
The great essential is love for those things which make a beautiful
and strong character. Low standards of truth and morality in the
family tend to reproduce themselves in exaggerated forms in the social
life of the community. Individuals, coming out of families where there
is no love for the good and no regard for righteousness, often become
a serious threat to peace and good order. No educational system can do
very much for children with an evil family environment. On the other
hand the world is full of examples of men, trained up in righteousness
by their parents, who have strictly kept to the path in which their
feet were started.