Claim. Blessed families must establish explicit family rules and practices that align every word, attitude, and habit on God, because chronic habits inherited from the fallen world destroy the four-position-foundation from within.
Elaboration. SMM treats family discipline as restoration-functional, not preferential: “We have been living and speaking carelessly, but from now on we should establish rules in our families. Parents should not beat their children with a stick out of anger or speak secular words of condemnation to them. Now everything should be aligned. Our words, attitudes, and way of life should be aligned, centering upon God” (1.1. Establishing proper family rules and practices, 28-252, 1970.1.22). The risk is structural: “Your families should not become slaves to habit. The family is the starting point for establishing the four-position foundation” (ibid, 21-76, 1968.10.20). The historical precedent is Israel’s decline through assimilation: “they were assimilated into the existing environment and became accustomed to its habits… They perished because they assimilated the existing Canaanite culture” (ibid, 144-134, 1986.4.12). The remedy is codification — “Blessed families should establish a family tradition and create a family code of conduct. You should also create a standard of education for children” (ibid, 21-87, 1968.11.3) — so that when children challenge parents on inconsistency, the parents have a settled standard. Without rules, the family becomes a vector for the Fall, not a fence against it.
See also. blessing