Building Family Values and Virtues

"Greeting was an ancient key that opened the palace gate," my late father, Dara Olisamara Okonkwo, told me.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Building family values and virtues is like building a personal brand. It is aimed at building upon already acceptable norms of society and infusing into them your own family's unique identity of strengths, traditions, and traits. This is done purposefully with zeal, focus, and consistency until clarity is obtained.

Building family values and virtues is a call to ensure that everyone who comes into contact with you or your family members can easily recognize the uniqueness of your family's values and virtues. As common as greeting might sound, it would sound alien to hear that any of my siblings would pass you without greeting you. This was made possible because while we were growing up, we were taught that "greeting was an ancient key that opened the palace gate." We were told a story of how a commoner who often met the king on a lonely part of the village stream during the coolness of day was granted a permanent stay even in the palace because of his greetings. The commoner was eventually trained as a spy for the king and his kingdom. That story of "the ancient key to the palace" has had a great influence on me as a child to date, to the extent that I don't count the number of times I have greeted you during the day. Rather, I would prefer to vary the content of my greetings to achieve variation.

Reflective Questions

Now you have heard my story of the ancient key to the palace; what are your takeaways, views, and suggestions about greetings?

Today marks #ThursdayFamilyFirstValuesAndVirtues. As parents and childcare givers what values and virtues are you coveting and culling to pass on to your children and wards?

Take Home Notes

Although keys are not the biggest items in a house, having them principally determines two things:

1. Access: Whether you would have access to the house or not.

2. Legitimacy: Whether your access to the house is lawful or unlawful.

Therefore, be mindful and thoughtful of the values and virtues you are bequeathing to your children and wards because they would be a testament of you in your children's lives for the good of your family, your society, and to the glory of God.

The values we cultivate in small daily habits often prepare us for great responsibilities tomorrow. Remember, it was Israel's care and love for his children that made him send Joseph to his brothers in the wilderness to know how they were faring.

Even though Joseph's brothers saw him as a threat and sold him into slavery, the values of care, faithfulness, and service he learned at home continued to shape his life. The care and love he learned from his father led him to interpret the dreams of his fellow prisoners. Those dream interpretations led him to the Egyptian King, Pharaoh, whom he interpreted his dreams for, which eventually led to his appointment as Prime Minister in Egypt. That was how his values and virtues of dream interpretation, care, and love for one another led him to take care of the Egyptians, his family, and nations around Egypt in years of famine.

I hope our discussion today has been fruitful and rewarding. What are your reflections, views, and suggestions?

Feel free to drop your comments and repost this message to reach like-minded people in your networks and groups to deepen the conversation for an enduring legacy and reference. . Every enduring family legacy begins with small daily values faithfully practiced. Today's greetings, kindness, respect, and compassion may become tomorrow's keys that open doors no amount of wealth or influence can unlock. Build your family's values intentionally, for they will continue speaking long after your voice has become a memory.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy it to the glory of God. Aaaamen 🙏 . ..

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I am Ginuschuks Okonkwo- Hyginus Okwuchukwu Okonkwo