As I recently sat beside a little four-year-old at the church I attend and listened to him recite the Westminster catechism, I was struck by the thought that generations of people have recited these truths before him. He proudly told me how his mother and father worked with him every evening after dinner, teaching him and passing on the truth of the faith. Although a seemingly insignificant act, this boy’s parents were cultivating the legacy of the Christian tradition in their home. This child was participating in a generational wisdom and memory that extends far beyond himself.
In his essay Bringing up a Boy, Plutarch states, “Above all things one should train and exercise a child’s memory. Memory serves as the storehouse of culture (emphasis added).” Memory is familiarity and understanding of the wisdom, traditions, and truth of the past. Christian culture and memory have historically thrived in a thoughtful loving environment–namely, the home.
Culture sets the customs, atmosphere, and rhythms which a society absorbs. It is the incarnation of philosophies, beliefs, and ideals. According to the Bible, a large part of this culture creating and shaping takes place in the home. In Titus chapter 2, Paul exhorts the early Christian church to teach one another, working in their homes “that the word of God may not be reviled.” The passage demonstrates that creating home culture is a central task in safeguarding the gospel. If what the Bible says about the home’s value and importance in culture-making is true, then the home is the underlying structure of society and a microcosm of the church. The home creates and nurtures community. It shapes what humans love and what they hate. It solidifies character. What a family promotes and teaches in the home is what they remember.
I am blessed to have experienced this firsthand in my home. In my family, Christmas and Easter have always been particularly rich celebrations of Christian culture. I have early childhood memories of watching my mom sew our advent ornaments by hand. Every night of the advent season, we would hang an ornament and recite the Bible passage that went with it. Waking up on Christmas morning was thrilling when my siblings and I got to hang the final ornament of Baby Jesus on the tree and read the Christmas story. When I picture Easter, I see my mom setting up the tiny empty tomb display on the mantelpiece and decorating the dining room with lilies far into Saturday night. I smell the pork my Dad is seasoning. I hear the lively strains of Handel’s Messiah. The food, decorations, and songs are not ends in themselves, but as St. Augustine says, “are tangible signs of an invisible reality.” Because of the family rhythms my parents worked so hard to create, the glory and wonder of Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection has been imprinted into my mind and heart. It has instilled values that have shaped who I am. Now, when celebrating as an adult with my church or family, I feel connected to my Christian heritage through memory.
Unfortunately, modern society has devalued strong home culture and made family commitment a rarity, even in Christian circles. Specifically, feminism and individualism have battered tradition, authority, and humility which are essential for a thriving Christian home. Feminists have significantly devalued the home in the eyes of most modern women by denouncing it as oppressive, old-fashioned, and a place of stress and boredom. Activists like Betty Friedam in the 1960s condemned the home as a demeaning confinement, which restricted the personalities and desires of all women. While many women do still choose the home if they can, they no longer feel like they should or are expected to. Thus, with both parents working in the average household, there is no person to anchor the family, and it is a strong temptation to prioritize success in the workplace instead of faithfulness at home.
The individualism that pervades our society often filters into Christian thinking. This is problematic because the nature of individualism resists submitting to any established authority, making it progressive and anti-historical. If individuals and their desires are the most important, why would learning the wisdom of past generations matter? Why does one need to be loyal and true to a community when every man is free to forge their own path? Many Christians unintentionally buy into this philosophy by stressing individualized relationships with God over serving and participating with the communion of saints. In thinking that fulfilling personal aspirations in the public workplace is what ultimately determines success, the church has effectively destroyed its roots. Since the home has largely been disregarded, lesser goods such as entertainment and technology have attempted to fill the void of stability and meaningful community that is usually found in the home. In a recent survey, researchers found that watching TV was the main leisure activity of American families at an average of 2.9 hours a day. At the same time, the average amount of social and family interaction per day clocked in at only 34 minutes. Evidently, such limited time in comparison to the hours of work and amusement is not enough to establish sturdy home relationships and rhythms.
How does an age-old story become confused? How do long-standing traditions lose their meaning? It is only when culture is not properly passed down to the next generation. This is especially poignant to the Christian. If we want future Christian men and women to walk securely in wisdom and faithfulness, there must be a transmission of goodness, truth, and beauty.
So how can Christians support families and homes? How can college students take part in preserving and passing down Christian culture? A first step is seeking to cultivate virtues and Christian habits in our own lives. It is impossible to teach someone something you know little of yourself. We should not settle for shallow popular culture when we have the opportunity to imitate and grow a longstanding glorious faith. Pursuing relationships with young families in the church you attend will help you know how to help in meaningful tangible ways. Offering to come over and give parents an extra set of hands with cleaning, excursions, or meals helps parents focus their energy on teaching their children. Even encouraging young children to share what they are learning, such as the little boy and his Westminster Catechism, demonstrates to them what is valuable. We are all a part of the body of Christ. What more meaningful way is there than to engage with our little brothers and sisters by passing on the memory and heritage of the church to them? When we do this we remind them of home–and thus point them to their true heavenly Home.
