Parental Love

Being a parent calls forth the noblest and most unselfish emotions in ordinary people. Rare is the parent who would not sacrifice his or her life for the sake of their child. Having children is a life-altering experience, calling forth moral strength to end destructive lifestyles and become responsible role models to their children. Parenting challenges people as nothing else to be sacrificial, patient, forgiving—in short, to develop a love that more closely resembles the love of God.

Parental love is the highest stage in the family school of love. To enter into that stage, couples have a duty to have children; it is a duty to love and to their own perfection. Furthermore, parents are responsible to educate their children in the most basic matters of life—what Father Moon calls education in heart and norm. This education has three aspects, each treated in turn: moral instruction, discipline, and setting an example. Scriptural wisdom regards discipline to be an essential duty of parents, when done out of love and concern for their proper growth. Failure to discipline children, on the other hand, is a form of abuse, because it leads to rotten character.

A parent’s example in particular concerns the parents’ example of faith and devotion to God; it is key to the children developing their own faith. Next, parents are guardians, protecting their children from harm. Anyone who has had a teenage daughter knows of the sleepless nights spent worried about her and thinking about how to keep her safe. The final group of passages speaks about the heart of parents to unconditionally love their children, forgiving them when they fall short and wanting the very best for them.