Mike Pence chooses family dinner over meeting with Trump
US Vice President Mike Pence with wife Karen and daughters Charlotte (left) and Audrey (right), talk as they board an aircraft in 2017. Photo EPA, Paul Miller
Christian Life
What would you do if the American President invited you for a meeting at the same moment as your daughter's first musical recital? Of course, you would go to the President. "No", former Vice President Mike Pence says. "You should go listen to your daughter."
Family life must be priority number one for everyone, Pence believes. He strongly defends his statement in his new book "Go Home for Dinner: Advice on How Faith Makes a Family and Family Makes a Life", which he wrote together with his daughter Charlotte, the Dutch daily Reformatorisch Dagblad reports. "Ultimately, I believe it's our faith and our families in this country that is our ultimate source of strength", the former Vice President told Daily Signal in an interview.
Pence worries about the deterioration of family life in the United States. "And at a time when we have so much division in our country, when it seems like more Americans are more anxious about the future than ever before, we end this book with a simple admonition: If you wonder what you can do to save America, save your family, go home for dinner, strengthen the ties that bind the people that you cherish most."
Dinner
In his book, published earlier this month, Pence describes how he always tried to put his family first in his life. As member of Congress, as governor of Indiana and as Vice President he always attempted to be home for dinner. It was not always easy to fit the meals into his agenda, he acknowledges. Yet, he required himself to be at the table when the warm meal was served. And it was a conscious choice. Many people did not understand his choice to prioritise his family. But that was something Pence took for granted, as he sees his family as the most important people in his life. He sees an investment in the family as an investment in the future of society.
Pence worries about the decline of American families. "The truth is that people are putting off marriage, they're putting off having children, some people are just choosing not to be married at all," he states. "And we know the divorce rate in this country is heartbreaking. And the truth is that it's been the faith in the families of this country that has always been the wellspring of our nation's strength."
For the United States to counter this declining trend, restoration of family life and, above all, of conversation within the family is necessary. He cites President Ronald Reagan, who said during his farewell address: "All great change in America begins at the dinner table."
Pence is convinced that no one will regret putting faith and family first in his life. He warns of the worldly hunt for money and happiness, which always ends in disappointment. "You really can't have it all in life without somebody paying the price", he points out in his book. "But the Bible actually tells us that He gives to His beloved even while they sleep. I honestly believe that when we make His priorities, our priorities, God will open doors of opportunity."
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