The home as God wold have it is a Christ-centered home, a home where family values exist, where there is devotion to God, and where there is an effort to learn and abide by His word. But in far too many instances, the home as God would have it doesn’t exist. The various roles assigned to the home by God have been blurred to the extent that they are barely visible in many families. Fathers are almost welded to their work; mothers are more interested in their careers than in the exalted position of motherhood; and children are more interested in being popular than in being righteous and respectful. It’s sad to the see the home in such shambles. And the repair of it is not an easy task, seeing as how culture sees the concept of home and family as out-moded, antiquated, and, in many instances, outright unnecessary.

How can we have good homes? First, fathers must take their rightful place as the spiritual leader of the family. And one of the things every father should do is initiate family worship. It is so vital to the spiritual welfare of the family and is one of the most neglected things in homes today. Here are some suggestions about family worship.

Begin by equipping yourself. You certainly can’t teach what you don’t know. Fathers need to read the Bible, be aware of its need in their own lives. Then they can relate what they’ve learned to their children. How can fathers “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” () when they’ve not learned what is necessary to do so? Mothers, too, need to make time to engage in regular Bible study. It’s a part of being “keepers at home.” And if a mother can’t take care of her family obligations and still work outside the home, she best quit the job rather than the home. You have to work at it, but it’s worth it—to you and your family, too.

Who is in control of your time? We live in a fast-paced world, one where time is so quickly used up with making a living that we end up not making a life. Time belongs to you; and when you allow someone else to spend your time, you are making a mistake. “Redeeming the time, for the days are evil” () speaks to us today. It says that time poorly spent makes evil days, days that, in the final analysis, don’t result in our good. Days spent solely in the pursuit of mundane things and that have no regard for the spiritual matters in life are days that become evil. They hurt us instead of helping us. For instance, everyone suffers when there is no time for the simple family gatherings around the hearth or around the kitchen table, no time for spiritual discussions, for clean family humor, for carefully applied discipline, for mutual encouragement. Are these things missing in your family? Just a few minutes with a Bible and with the family together (‘scuse the pun) can bring unity, harmony, and love to a family.

Plan it. You won’t ever get it done until you decide what to do and decide to do it. It’s not always convenient what with family members going in every direction. But you can do it if you want to. The whole process of family worship begins in the hearts of the fathers and mothers who plan it. Plan the work and work the plan. Both are necessary. Assign things to be done—songs to be led, prayers to be said, scriptures to be read (poor poetry, good advice!). Just the anticipation of the family worship period is a deterrent to evil thinking, to poor time management, and a host of other things that get in the way. “Be ready to give an answer” () calls for an investment; and one of the investments is planning.

It takes courage. Family worship lands a serious blow to the causes of evil. It makes the Devil very unhappy when the family gets together to worship. He knows that such devotion to God will certainly have its influence on the children in later life and that means that his cause is blunted somewhat. What a fine thought: to be able to deal a blow to the Devil and his cause. But it takes courage. You may have to take a stand against your own kids. Can you do it? You may have to go ahead with the planned get-together when the kids have company (perish the thought!) Do you have the courage to get on with it? In fact, it may be more important at that time than at any other—and for all concerned—for your children as well as their guests. And for you.

Do it. Someone has observed, perhaps properly, that “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. The Devil does not often invite people into the slime pits of sin; rather, he just keeps them intending, but never getting around to doing. To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin (). That’s a disturbing passage. It indicts all of us at various times. And isn’t it so that we all intend to get involved in family worship? That’s not enough. You have to do it. Sometimes it will cause problems—do it anyway. Sometimes it will be inconvenient—do it anyway. Sometimes it will be embarrassing—do it anyway. Sometimes it will be easy to put it off—do it anyway. And remember, you have to start somewhere, sometime. So start. When? did you say?