Knowing About Family Peace Will Help You Value Peace in This Societal Level
12th April 2021
The article “Family Peace” is designed to teach the significance of familial harmony and its role in societal advancement. It provides guidance and strategies for achieving and preserving peace within the family. In Africa, the family is a crucial societal component. With this in mind, let’s delve deeper into the subject.
What is Family Peace?
Family peace refers to harmony within a family unit, also known as intra-family peace. In South Sudan, a family might consist of a husband, wife, children, and the husband’s relatives, varying by region.
Children in a family may not always be the biological offspring of the parents. They could be siblings or children from other relatives or neighbors, highlighting the family’s significance in the community.
Traditionally, a family could include one man as the father/husband, multiple wives, and all their children. This structure existed before the rise of individual ego and selfishness. Marriage’s primary purpose was to bear children who would continue the lineage, reflecting the natural order where species reproduce their own kind.
However, the arrival of Arabs and Westerners in Africa marked a shift. Individualism, or capitalism, became prevalent, while collectivism, or socialism, faded into the past. The concept of family has since narrowed to a man, his wife, and their biological children.
Related: Life Coaching Ultimate Guide
LATEST UPDATES
Nowadays, it’s uncommon for men to embrace children they haven’t fathered as their own. Films and TV shows are replete with creative depictions of human jealousy. People of any age can expose themselves to such content, potentially causing issues in their current and future lives.
Women are increasingly reluctant to take responsibility for their husband’s children from previous relationships. This breeds animosity. While family peace is a desirable goal for all, achieving and sustaining harmony within a family can be challenging today. There’s a saying that too much of anything is bad, suggesting that excessive freedom may have contributed to the challenges faced by modern families.
How to get peace in a family?
Living in peace within a family can be challenging, so it’s important to understand how to find peace before trying to maintain it. There are individuals who are inherently peaceful, whether by nature or nurture. I firmly believe that nature often takes precedence over nurture. Peaceful individuals are present in every family, clan, tribe, and nation, serving as the foundation of tranquility in their families.
Reflecting on my childhood in the 1980s, I recall being the mediator between my mother and father. I was sensitive to my father’s moods and sought to understand his frustrations. My instinct was to intervene and prevent arguments, always cautious to avoid getting caught in the middle.
My role was to foster peace within our family, which is why I now identify with the term ‘shalom.’ It’s not an aspiration for the future; it’s a reflection of my inherent nature. I despise quarrels and conflicts.
Peace-loving individuals avoid harmful actions, people, and items. Despite their youth, they are sometimes labeled as cowards because they are conscientious about not causing harm to themselves or others. They are empathetic. It is through such individuals that peace can be established in every family.
Observationally, in most families, if one spouse is aggressive, the other is not. Similarly, in a family with two children, it’s common for one to be peaceful and the other more confrontational. This balance is part of nature’s design. There is a divine reason why both aggressive and peaceful individuals are placed within a family.
How to maintain peace in a family?
Before concluding our discussion, let’s consider how to sustain the peace already present within a family. It’s evident that families contain both peaceful and aggressive individuals; however, peace is preserved when the peaceful members are heard and have influence.
Aggressive individuals often attempt to ignore, silence, and dominate the peaceful ones. So, how can the quiet and peaceful maintain harmony? They can employ various strategies, thinking, speaking, and acting in ways that foster familial peace. Their thoughts, words, and actions are crucial.
Peaceful individuals can deter conflicts, whether involving themselves or others. While it’s impossible to eliminate all conflict, recognizing that every family has both peaceful and aggressive members is part of life’s reality. Even insects engage in combat for their own reasons.
The divine has mysterious methods. I sometimes ponder, if everyone in a family acted exactly as I do, what chaos would ensue? If all family members thought and acted identically, it could lead to monotony and strife rather than peace and unity.
My final words
In conclusion, this article has highlighted the essence of family peace, which is harmony among family members. It has been established that in South Sudan, the concept of family extends beyond the immediate household, serving as a vital component of the community.
Furthermore, it has been acknowledged that individuals who value peace play a significant role within their families. It is important to remember that our knowledge is limited, and thus, we should avoid passing judgment on others.
If we are advocates of peace, we should strive to coexist peacefully with all family members. While we cannot force others to adopt our ways, we can lead by example. I trust that this article on Family Peace has been informative for you. Your feedback is welcome in the comment section below. May God bless you and protect you during and beyond the global pandemic. Shalom!
FURTHER READINGS
- Learn more from the Family Peace Initiative website here.
- Peace Starts in the Family—Global Peace