Because we are dependent creatures for so long, needing protection and care, human folk cannot do without family or something like it. Having families, living in families, being fathers and mothers, husbands and wives is not the issue. The issue is loyalty . As Jesus prepares his little band of disciples for their mission, they need to be clear about their priorities. For us, as we seek to be faithful to Jesus centuries later, the issue is the same.
Families are important.
We can't do without them. But they do not have the ultimate claim on us . The message is the same throughout the Bible. The Bible affirms the family and limits its significance. The consecration of the family, theologian Paul Tillich once said, it not a consecration for the final aim of human existence.