Things are often very different now. Many women including clergy wives, work outside the family, and most women have much more independence than once they had. But it's still very difficult for any human being to operate in isolation, even should we wish to do so. So for all of us to some extent, our Christianity can't help but impinge on our families and friends. Mostly that's a good thing.
Christian values are also good social values.
If we all loved our neighbours as ourselves, society would operate much more smoothly, and wars and violence would diminish. Especially on vulnerable people, like children. It sounds a terrible and frightening thing to say, if it's to be taken at its face value. But Jesus is using a Jewish literary device which would be familiar to his listeners but which is unfamiliar to us in 20th century England. He's using extremes of language to make a more moderate point.