FAMILY RELATIONSHIP SEMINAR
1. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP
WITH YOUR PARENTS?
A. Loving and close
B. Distant
C. Cold
D. Hostile
2. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR COMMUNICATION
WITH YOUR PARENTS?
A. Gut level
B. Share ideas and opinions but not your personal issues.
C. Communicate facts about others.
D. Superficial
E. Hostile
QUESTIONS
• You can text message me on Whatsapp or mobile
• Write on a piece of paper on your table during the
seminar so that we can answer the questions
OBJECTIVES
• Why should we honour and obey our parents?
• What does obey and honour your parents mean?
• How should we relate to our parents?
• How should we communicate with our parents?
CASE STUDY1
• John is a single child of a couple. He shares with his friend, ‘My
parents do not seem to understand me. They treat me like an
eight year old child. It is so hard to communicate with them.
They simply won’t listen. How can I honour my parents who
constantly nag me to do this and that and refuse to listen to my
point of view?’
QUESTION
• Why should we obey and honour our parents
when they are so demanding?
WE SHOULD OBEY AND HONOUR OUR PARENTS
BECAUSE
• God instructs us to love and obey our parents. (Eph
6:1-2)
• Our parents love us.
• There is a promise with the commandment. (Exodus
20:12)
CASE STUDY 2
• Rebecca is a fiercely independent youth, she likes to go to bed
late and so often has difficulty waking up in the morning to
attend school. Her parents tried to get her to go to bed early by
imposing bedtime rules. Rebecca was upset because she feels
that she is wide awake and functions best after midnight. She is
infuriated by her parents’ midnight curfew on her internet usage.
• She says to her parents, “I am not going to listen to you! This is
my life and I am going to do what I like with it. Keep your advice
to yourself.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN BY HONOURING OUR
PARENTS?
• Learn to be polite and courteous
• It means listening to them.
• We must help them to trust us.
CASE STUDY 3
• Mary’s father is a very successful businessman and he
wants Mary to follow his footstep and study Commerce.
But Mary is not keen at all. This has caused a lot of
conflict within the family since Mary wants to study Arts
and become a school teacher. Her parents suggest
she should do law since she enjoy Arts. Mary does not
want to do law. She is getting very frustrated because
her parents are becoming very militant about what she
should be studying at university.
QUESTION
• If you were Mary, how would you respond? How can
Mary resolve this hostile situation?
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH COMMUNICATION GAP?
• We need to understand:
• Parents want the best for their children.
• Their children’s’ success are their success
• They feel that they know better than their children what
is best for them.
SOLUTIONS
• Two way communications at an open, friendly, genuine level will
help the situation.
• Explain the reason why you do not want to do law or commerce
to your parents, and not just object because they suggest the
idea.
• Willing to listen to your parents’ ideas.
• Pray that God will help both you and your parents to trust in his
providence.
CASE STUDY 4
• Jane and her brother’s parents have been fighting over
the years. One night her mother told Jane that she and
her father were getting a divorce. Her world was
shattered. She became angry and sad at the same time.
She felt that she was to be blamed for her parent’s
divorce because they often argue about parenting issues.
She became cold and distant towards her parents and
refused to talk to them as she felt that Christians should
never divorce for the bible said so.
QUESTIONS
• What do you think of Jane’s feeling?
• How should Jane deal with the situation?
HOW SHOULD WE RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER IN THE
FAMILY WHEN RELATIONSHIP BREAKDOWN?
• Come to terms with our own feeling and talk to
someone older and wiser.
• Know that this is not our fault that our parents develop
relationship issues.
• Not to be judgemental about our parents. Accept their
decision and learn to live with the situation.
Q&A
SUMMARY
• God loves us & He commanded us to love one another.
• Parent chid relationship resemble our relationship with God.
• Mend our relationship today.
• Show respect and love our parents, communicate with them.