Honor Your Parents
My wife and I spent four days away from home this week. While we were gone, my wife’s parents watched our four children. When we returned, we received the wonderful privilege of having been honored by our children. Their grandparents told us that they were incredibly respectful and polite, and they did all that they were supposed to do while we were gone.
God tells us in the fifth commandment to honor our parents. This is a command that we could all do well to revisit as we have become a society where mothers and fathers are more apt to honor their children than then other way around.
In our world today, Mothers and fathers live to make their children smile. This is not a biblical model, but one that causes parents to be treated like bank accounts, sources of entertainment funding, and free trips to wherever rather than the wisdom granters and life teachers that they are created to be.
The Western world has done much to turn the ideals of parenting upside down and this is to the detriment of our own futures. Parents are not called to make their children happy; they are called to train their children to honor the will of God.
It’s also important to remember that “children” does not only mean “little kids.” Children are to honor their parents with their behavior and choices even as they become parents themselves.
Much of what gets us into trouble in life could be prevented if we would focus more on the command to honor our parents. Think of every sin and every crime and within them you will see that obeying the command to honor one's parents would have prevented it. How many prisoners would never have spent one day in jail had they chosen to honor their parents? With that said, I should clarify that honoring parents does not mean doing everything they say or making them happy even if it requires an immoral act. Parents are also to live according to the will and instructions of God as parents.
There is no greater way to honor God than to honor our parents. By honoring our parents, we do honor God.
I would add, after John's comments, that Mother and Father refers to the aged who should be honored rather than treated like they no longer have value. Mother and father can also be a reference to "wisdom" and "God."
In His dust,
Johnny
5 comments:
The people in Sinai were the heads of households. When they heard the commandment, the average age was 40-60 yrs old. Their parents were older, this is probably not talking about young children obey your parents, honor your father and your mother – It says give glory to the member in your family and community who are now 70, 80 – They are the old barren woman and old men who have no more strength to work in the field. The unproductive group is the one group who gets what we give to God...Glory. Give Kabod (glory) to the barren women and the old man who contributes nothing. It also ties into the Sabbath…If your identity is no longer based on accomplishments then everyone can stop one day a week and bow down and give glory. What better statement, we see this life in an alternative way. Not about 24/7 or work until you drop. We sanctify the day we stop. We give glory not to the people who produce the most, but to those who can’t produce. Community that has come to recognize we are not a people of works but a people of grace.
In process,
John
John,
You are awesome! Thanks for adding to this study.
We definitely live in a different day. There are thousands of people who can no longer contribute and because of that they are treated like inconveniences. I pray that we will get back into the Word, recognize that the Old Testament is not the "Out dated" Testament, and begin to follow God's instructions.
This will be a much greater world when we all live according to the wisdom of God.
Thanks again, John.
Forever willing to be taught,
Johnny
I do not envy the great responsibilty parents have to bring up God-fearing children.
For me, having a child is like being entrusted by God to put his very nature into the children you raise.
Kristy,
Thanks for commenting. You are right. When I see a lack of reverence for God in my children, I take personal responsibility for their irreverent behavior.
Raising godly children in this world today is quite a challenge.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
Kristy,
It stresses me out big time to know that I have one of God's children in my care to raise the way He wants him raised. I just pray about it everynight as I lay him down to sleep...that God would set him apart, be near him and help me raise him into a man after God's own heart.
It's still an incredibly stressful thing. Thank goodness I can pray about it and lay the stress at God's feet over and over again because otherwise I'd go crazy!
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