FAMILY IS EVERYTHING

At one time, the nucleus/blood family (mother, father, son, daughter, sister, brother, and other blood relatives) used to take priority over the social family (social groups, friends, organizations like political family, social media family, Greek family organization (fraternity, sorority brotherhood/sisterhood family), religious/church family, and yes even gang family. While these other forms of family are great, they should not seek to take the place of nor should a person use them to replace their nucleus/blood family except in severe dysfunctional, abusive, and family milieu and abandonment cases. The nucleus/blood family supper table, family reunion, and personal bonding time face genocidal proportion as it has been colonized, stolen, hijacked, abducted, and systematically harmed by our electronic devices and by our lackluster loyalty and dedication to the nucleus/blood family but give unwavering loyalty and commitment to the organization and institution family. These families are what I call secondary/augment families and not replacement families except for in the case of those extreme conditions mentioned earlier. We proudly display these secondary families on bumper stickers or tattoo them on our bodies, all while we ignore or put minimal effort into the nucleus/blood family as it fades into obscurity. While they (organizations/institutions) can be excellent support systems and may play a role in our development, they only leave a legacy for that group/organization/institution. This depends on where that institution/organization places themselves or where the individual who joins the institution/organization places the institution/organization as far as priority in their life.

The obligation to, devotion to, unconditional love for, and commitment to the nucleus/blood family is the most essential: 1 Timothy 5:8 has a more extended meaning and importance to others than just the "man." In John 1:41, when Andrew begins to follow Jesus, we read, "He first found his brother Simon, one of the most notable apostles, the one who gave the great speech on the day of Pentecost. Jesus' mother was with him and supported him when he performed his first miracle. Jesus' family and relatives even supported Jesus to his death as they stood at the foot of the Cross and his empty tomb. This is evident in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke as the writer sees the importance of running down the genealogy of Jesus. Also, The Old Testament runs down the genealogies of the Prophets, kings, and significant figures in the Old Testament. So family support, unconditional love, and involvement from birth, through life, and unto death are essential for building legacy and what they call generational wealth.

Conversely, without support, unconditional love, and involvement, the legacy of the primary family (nucleus/blood family) evaporates over time. For example, when discussing generation wealth, that conversation should start with the generation wealth of the nucleus/blood family, then the cultural family (ethnicity/race/ancestry), and lastly, the social organization/institution familiars. When done in this order, all the family entities are supported. However, legacy and generational wealth won't move forward if we put the cart before the horse because a cart can't pull a horse, and horses are only used to pull, not to push. So, while we may have all the necessary components (the horse and the cart) to move the nucleus/blood family legacy and generational wealth forward but fail to put first things first, you, your family, and your culture will not be able to move forward. So, as the saying goes, "Family is everything."___If not, your family legacy, culture, and generational wealth will be buried under brick and mortar, symbols, immersed under the status and identity of others.