I know it's long, but try to read it if you get a chance

Self-Government and Family Government:
Government: what is it? When asked, most people answer something having to do with our national government. Or they might say something having to do with Washington, or famous speeches. They think that the word government is connected with politics. The schools have the same idea. There are classes that are labeled: Civics. This class was dealing with the government. It dealt mainly with the function of government in civil matters. They no longer teach it that way anymore. The classes are now called: Government. When you look at the term “government,” as it is defined in the old textbooks, it covers things much broader than the state. The people who wrote those textbooks were aware that government covered more governments: personal, family, church, school, and civil governments. They understand that they each have a lawful realm of authority. The state was seen as one government among many.
Noah Webster describes the subject of government in his book: Webster’s New World Dictionary. Government: “The exercise of authority over a state, district, organization, institution, etc.” And in an older definition he includes family government as part of the complete definition before he deals with the government of an individual state or nation. He classifies family government as: “The exercise of authority by a parent or householder. ‘Children are often ruined by a neglect of government in parents.’” According to the Bible, it is the duty of parents to govern in the home. It is not the duty of the civil government to interfere with the affairs of the family. Too often, however, parents neglect their God-given duty to raise their children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.” When this happens, we can expect the state to take an increasingly dominant role in family affairs. Such a role is to the loss of the family. The state on many occasions has even claimed ownership of children. This is seen with the public (government) schools.
If this continues to happen, the generations to come (and coming) will become so reliant on the government, that if it falls, all will be lost for the people. They will neglect their own personal, family, church, and local governing duties. They will begin to believe that these responsibilities do not belong to them, but to the government. We have already begun to tread this path.
Noah Webster asserts that government begins with the individual and the “regulation” of his “conduct.” Government, in the older definition, is moral and personal before it is practical and institutional. Self-government (or self-control) under God is the foundation of any society.
Self-government supports all institutional governments, including parents and children in family government, pastors, elders, deacons, and members in church government, and civil servants and citizens in civil governments at all legal levels (city, country, state, and national).
Many of the dictionaries now-a-days make it hard to understand what the fundamental moral and different application features of government. The term “government” is most often the operation of family, church, and a distributed political order. There is little or no mention of family and religious governance in modern usage.
In modern usage “government,” especially in the media, has become a meaning for civil government alone. “Government” is an all-embracing term that is used for anything done by the State. So then the government has to do all the state’s jobs: releases crime figures, sets educational policy, delivers unemployment statistics, administers tax policy, and establishes monetary reform. If you look at is this way, the assumption is that there are no other governing institutions with rightful legal authority.
Let’s think about this…what would happen if we did this? First, real civil government would be moved to the bottom. This would also happen to family and church government. And second, civil government would be one government among many other rightful non-civil governments.
When the Bible speaks about government, it is talking about Christ’s government which rules over all nations. No human government could ever claim to be independent of God’s government since his rule is over all and will continue until forever. And neither can any human government claim to be the only government and disowning all other governments.
Self-government is another word for self-control. A self-governed individual is someone who can order his attitudes and actions without the need for external oppression. “A self-governed individual obeys the law of God from the heart, while someone who lacks self-control must be forced to obey. God desires self-government to operate in all His creatures. Those who will not rule themselves by God’s standard will be ruled by others.” So our self control comes from obeying the law of God. Those who do not follow the law cannot have complete self-control. Those who cannot have self-control must be ruled by an external ruler. In accordance to children, parents are their ruler (in the family government) If the child doesn’t do his school, then he may have to stay home from something or stay inside until that school is done. A self-governed student know what the consequences and will get his school done quickly and also know that if he does it quickly and well, then he will get freedom and good grades. Men fail in self-government because they are in rebellion against God.
Family, church, and civil governments reflect the self-government of the people, whether good or bad. Civil government cannot make people better. Leadership rises to its own level, the righteousness or unrighteousness of the people.
Autonomy means self-law. This means that a person makes his or her own laws without any regard for a higher law. A person who claims autonomy is a law unto himself, answerable to no one but himself. I know that everybody has their own law, but does the unbeliever follow his completely? The Christian must also follow God’s law, but since the unbeliever doesn’t believe in God, then he has no other law to follow. When the term self-government is used, we do not mean that the individual is and independent authority who can rightfully claim that this own views of morality are lawful. We all must answer to God’s law. Only God is morally independent. Man’s law is a reflection of his character. There are times, however, when the governments that are over us must be disobeyed. But even here the Bible sets forth the rules for non-obedience.
The devil cannot be blamed when we fall into sin. Although he can tempt us, he cannot force us to sin since Christians have the ability to “resist the devil” with the result that he will “flee” from us. Resisting is, of course, not enough. Would this mean that there is a chance that there could be a perfect person? If they always resisted; or could they always resist? The legally limited governments of family, church and State are but a reflection of God’s single government which is in the likeness of His holy character. This is why the individual in self-government is to be holy as God is holy. The love of a husband to his wife is like Christ’s love for the church. A father’s love to his children is like God’s love for his children.
In family government, the father is the ruler and authority. The father represents Christ as head over his wife and children. The wife represents her husband to the children. The children are accountable to both, but mostly to the father. Then there is the family law. The parents set up the laws and the children are to follow them or they are disciplined. This is a perfect image of God, His laws, and His children, but on earth. Obedience brings life while disobedience brings death. We obey here on earth so we get our reward later in life. The biblical family has come under attack. There are many people out there who are bound and determined to ruin all chances of families together as Christians.
God made the family. It is His design. And if you attack it, you are attacking God and defying him. Many states are decided to vote against having the husband as the leader. Instead, the husband and the wife will rule over the house equally. And in some cases, the state wants the children to be equal with the parents. Why is that? And wouldn’t that cause so many problems? What is the need of parents at this point? Just to put a roof over their heads and feed them? They should be teaching them too, but in most cases, this isn’t the case. If the state finds that the parents are “inept” to take care of their children, then the State will take them away to train them themselves. The family could be a part in the overall plan to change the State. When you are controlling a family, you are assuming the family affairs. Too many families have sent their children to the schools and day cares because they don’t want the burden of taking care of them; too many women have taken up jobs instead of taking care of the home.
Parents should always be prepared to retire. They should always be looking toward the future. They should not rely on the government with all their retirement plans. Those do not work (go figure, it’s with the government). The family should be a child’s first school. They should be teaching the child good morals at home while they’re young. Then, they should take complete charge of their schooling. They should not send their kids off to some school all day when you’re not sure what their really doing. The family is closely tied in with private property. If that fails, the family may also fall. Christians should vote against private property taxes and vote for tax reduction in all areas.

“The family…is a form of government, established for the good of children themselves, and the first government that each of us must obey.” Elements of Civil Government