Making a good home is a more important accomplishment than any career achievement. Not just because it is one of our most immediate and primary duties as humans, but because it is from the home’s overflowing that we can best serve the rest of the community. Doing it well takes as much intelligence and creativity as acquiring any other advanced skill. Yet strangely the skills to make a good home are rarely emphasized, and often entirely excluded, from a typical “education” today.
As a result, the problems extend far beyond people just not knowing basic skills, like how to manage money, prepare real food, or even make basic repairs around their homes. They also make the mistake of designing their home primarily for convenience and comfort, rather than what will shape them and their children into the people they should be. And they design their lifestyles and routines to maximize entertainment and productivity, rather than what will best pass on their own traditions and faith, build character and virtue, or enhance their relationships as a family and as neighbors.
One of the primary skills of every adult should be that of domestic engineering and understanding the economics of the home (in all that entails). It’s not only one of the most practical things you can know, but also potentially the most rewarding and effective way to solve the world’s most important problems, take care of your loved ones, and live a fulfilling life.
The most revered among us should not be CEOs, entrepreneurs, technologists, and celebrities, but rather those who have mastered the art and science of making a good home. For such are the skills that will provide the surest foundation for a society that desires real and lasting progress.