- Have you ever heard the saying, “We’re one big, happy family?” In your own words, what does it mean? (It seems to be saying that families always get along and are happy together.)
- What’s one time in the past week or two when your family was happy together? (Encourage your students to share brief, positive stories about happy times in their homes.)
- Now, what’s one time in the past week or two when your family was unhappy together? (Encourage your students to share—without details—brief stories about conflict in their homes. Don’t let this spiral out of control into a therapy session or a major gripe fest! Be prepared to redirect any teens who overshare.)
It would be great if families were always happy together. If parents and siblings and grandparents and cousins always got along, the world would be a beautiful place.
Sadly, we live in a fallen world . . . and that means families are not always happy together. Even in loving homes, there will be disagreements. Sometimes we say, through gritted teeth, “I love you, but I really don’t like you right now.”
In the last few years especially, you may have seen or heard media about a royal family feud in England.
- Have any of you heard about this family feud? If so, what have you heard? (Allow students to share what they’ve heard.)
Prince Harry, the younger of the two princes, split from the royal family in 2020 to live in the west with his American actress wife Meghan Markle. They made claims about incredible drama and dysfunction happening in the royal family behind closed doors. Moving seemed like a good way to have more boundaries and a simpler life. However, even four years after they split from the royal family, there are still headlines about feuding between Harry and Meghan and the other members of the royal family.
Play the following video for your students [3:00; stop at 1:28]:
Royal Family issues blunt warning to Prince Harry
This example is over the top, of course, but it’s true that each family has a set of challenges they need to deal with.
- Rather than moving to a different country or publicly gossiping about other family members, what are some ways that families can resolve problems and restore harmony? (Accept all reasonable answers.)
As long as we live on planet Earth, there will be problems and disagreements in families. However, we don’t have to let those problems mess things up for good! The New Testament has some excellent pointers toward family unity and happiness. Let’s look at a few of them today.