I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
—Ephesians 4:hestrongestinfluenceinyourlifewillstemfromyourfamily.Afamilygivesmorethan
aname—itgivesidentity.Throughfamilyrelationships,peoplecometoabetter
understandingofthemselvesandlearntointeractwithothers.Whethernegativeorpositive,
theirconceptsofloveandtheirchoicesinlifeareinlargepartduetotheinfluenceoftheir
families,includingthewaytheyhandleconflictordeveloppossibleprejudices.
Thefamily isan integralpart of society,both shapingandbeingshapedby it.Every
society developssomekindof family structure,however diversethesestructuresmay be.As
socialgroupsdevelopcultureandsocialorder,they must providean organizedway to
nurtureandcarefor weaker members.They alsomust learn tointeract constructively with
other socialgroups.In today’sglobalsociety,an understandingof different family forms,
such assingleness,interracialmarriage,same-sexcouples,andother culturalvariations,is
crucialtointerculturalrelations.T
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