Song
My sister has fallen in love with a new children's song from church, and she decided to send me an e-mail with the lyrics and a link to the audio of the song.
I have been having problems recently trying to define my personal role in life. Reading these lyrics only made me more frustrated.
Here are those lyrics.
Our Father has a family. It’s me!
It’s you, all others too: we are His children.
He sent each one of us to earth, through birth,
To live and learn here in fam’lies.
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.
A father’s place is to preside, provide,
To love and teach the gospel to his children.
A father leads in fam’ly prayer to share
Their love for Father in Heaven.
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.
A mother’s purpose is to care, prepare,
To nurture and to strengthen all her children.
She teaches children to obey, to pray,
To love and serve in the fam’ly.
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.
I’ll love and serve my family and be
A good example to each fam’ly member.
And when I am a mom or dad, so glad,
I’ll help my fam’ly remember:
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.
It's the little things about the lyrics that get to me.
"...when I am a mom or dad..." there's the expectation to have children.
"A father’s place is to preside, provide..." should this male-dominated role really be reinforced with children? Do these children understand that the word preside means "to exercise authority or control"?
And the entire definition of the mother's role rubs me wrong:
" A mother’s purpose is to care, prepare,
To nurture and to strengthen all her children.
She teaches children to obey, to pray,
To love and serve in the fam’ly."
What does it really mean to "Serve in the family"? Teach children "to obey"?
Thanks for listening.
I have been having problems recently trying to define my personal role in life. Reading these lyrics only made me more frustrated.
Here are those lyrics.
Our Father has a family. It’s me!
It’s you, all others too: we are His children.
He sent each one of us to earth, through birth,
To live and learn here in fam’lies.
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.
A father’s place is to preside, provide,
To love and teach the gospel to his children.
A father leads in fam’ly prayer to share
Their love for Father in Heaven.
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.
A mother’s purpose is to care, prepare,
To nurture and to strengthen all her children.
She teaches children to obey, to pray,
To love and serve in the fam’ly.
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.
I’ll love and serve my family and be
A good example to each fam’ly member.
And when I am a mom or dad, so glad,
I’ll help my fam’ly remember:
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.
It's the little things about the lyrics that get to me.
"...when I am a mom or dad..." there's the expectation to have children.
"A father’s place is to preside, provide..." should this male-dominated role really be reinforced with children? Do these children understand that the word preside means "to exercise authority or control"?
And the entire definition of the mother's role rubs me wrong:
" A mother’s purpose is to care, prepare,
To nurture and to strengthen all her children.
She teaches children to obey, to pray,
To love and serve in the fam’ly."
What does it really mean to "Serve in the family"? Teach children "to obey"?
Thanks for listening.
Total Comments 4
Comments
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eh.. most religious songs are very gender specific.. and archaic.
one more reason why I don't subscribe.Posted 08-23-2009 at 07:39 AM by guccilvr
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Yes, this is definitely archaic. There is an even older idea that if a couple (i.e. married couple) weren't to have (or couldn't have) children, they were to be celibate for life. Nice, eh?
These prescribed gender roles are potentially damaging to relationships, and so many of us don't bother with them so much.
Our role in life shouldn't be to rigidly follow these patterns of family. What if a kid grows up to be one of two mothers, or two fathers?
No. Our role in life should simply be to make the greatest number of people happy that we can. What positivity you put into the world shall eventually come back to you in one form or another that will bring you your own satisfaction.
We do not need religion to teach us this, but I won't dismiss it completely as one source of what can teach us to accomplish it. In my own life, the Dhammapada has taught me much about what good I can do in this world.Posted 08-23-2009 at 09:18 AM by Baraka_Guru 
Updated 08-23-2009 at 09:20 AM by Baraka_Guru -
What denomination is this? I would guess Missionary Alliance Baptist. Their MO is to make sure every person on the planet recognizes that 1952 America is the ultimate Heaven on earth.
At any rate, some churches continue to use the same old worn out crapola that has little to do with their bible. There are plenty of references to strong women, heads of family in the protestant bible. Of course, there are also the admonitions against pork and spilling your seed, but most religious scholars agree they were made part of the bible because people had to mate like rabbits for the human species to survive, and pork, just like now, could kill if not properly cooked.Posted 08-23-2009 at 09:58 AM by Poppinjay
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Gucci, I think you're on to something there.
B_G, I like your mentality.
Poppin, it's a Mormon song.Posted 08-23-2009 at 08:41 PM by genuinegirly
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