Describe family government in terms of the five institutional characteristics: sovereignty, hierarchy, law, sanctions, and succession. 

1# Sovereignty: According to Wikipedia “Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority.” In family government the one completely in charge is the father, and if there’s no father then the mother is in charge. But above all God is the sovereign One. God created all things so He owns all things. Colossians 1:16-17 says “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” 

2# Hierarchy: According to Wikipedia “A hierarchy is an arrangement of items that are represented as being “above”, “below”, or “at the same level as” one another.” Hierarchy also means authority. I go to an organization called Trail Life. It is like boy scouts, but a lot different. First in command is the First officer, then the second officer, then the quartermaster, then the junior patrol leaders. In family government the first in command is the father then the mother then whatever order of kids that the parents want. 

3# Law: According to Wikipedia “Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior.” There are good laws and there are bad laws. In a home the parents make laws to keep their children safe. Some of those laws are be nice to your siblings, do your chores, and do your homework. Some of these laws might seem mean or annoying, but the parents are just trying to protect their children. 

4# Sanctions: Sanctions are basically the rewards of doing something. they can be good or bad. If your dad tells you to do something you might get a reward which would be a good sanction. You would get a bad sanction if you were caught doing something you were told not to. In a home good sanctions would come from obeying, cleaning, and being a good brother/sister, Bad sanctions would come from disobeying, being mean, and stealing. 

5# Succession: According to Google, succession is “the action or process of inheriting a title, office, property, etc.” Basically succession is like when a boy gets married and becomes a husband. After he has a son/daughter he’ll become a father. Or maybe when someone dies you take their place.