What is the biblical basis for traditional family values?

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Here some Bible verses about responsibility and honor in “traditional families”:

But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 1 Corinthians 11:3 (NLT)

Honor your father and your mother that your days will increase in the land that LORD JEHOVAH your God gives to you. Exodus 20:12 (ABiPE)

Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV)

And some verses about sexual morality (within a family).

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice h*m*sexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV)

Note the end, that it is not about the people, but about the behavior. More about sex and relations in the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 7. It also shows that there is no obligation, to have a traditional family.

7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. 8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 1 Corinthians 7:7-9 (NIV)

Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” Matthew 19:12 (NLT)

The bible contains much more about families. Some of it might actually be surprising for example from Proverbs 31:

16 She appraises a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard. ... 24 She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. (BSB)

So the "traditional" role of the wife was more that of a manager, than that of a secondary citizen (as in some views of traditional families).

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The first mention of marriage, Genesis 2:24, describes it as a man leaving his parents and being united to his wife. In passages that contain instructions regarding marriage, such as 1 Corinthians 7:2–16 and Ephesians 5:23–33, the Bible clearly identifies marriage as being between a man and a woman. Biblically speaking, marriage is the lifetime union of a man and a woman, primarily for the purpose of building a family and providing a stable environment for that family.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24)

He [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh (Matthew 19:4-6).

But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband (1Corinthians 7:2).

As for divorce, the Bible has this to say in Malachi 2:13-16:

You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the Lord Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.”

Children are given two primary responsibilities in the Christian family: to obey their parents and to honour them. Obeying parents is the duty of children until they reach adulthood, but honouring parents is their responsibility for a lifetime. God promises His blessings on those who honour their parents.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honour your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” (Ephesians 6:1–3).

There is more, but perhaps that will suffice to show the biblical basis for Christian marriage and bringing up the offspring of that union.

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