HONOR YOUR PARENTS...OR ELSE!

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace. 

If someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.

The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.

Proverbs 19:26, 20:20, 30:17         

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I learned many things growing up but I think the one thing I remember more than anything else was that I was to respect my parents. There weren’t many actions, if any, that would get me in more hot water than mouthing off to my father or mother or behaving in some way that brought them disrepute. It was just something that wasn’t going to be tolerated.

As I would go on to raise two children of my own, the standard my parents established and enforced translated to my parenting. Ask either of my daughters about whether or not they were expected to respect and honor their parents and they would tell you it was an important part of their upbringing as well.

My youngest daughter now has three children of her own and I can tell you without reservation that she is not tolerating any disrespect from her kids. The cycle of showing honor to parents is continuing.

So why all the emphasis on this matter?

Because the scriptures are very clear when it comes to the way children are to behave toward those who God entrusted to bear and raise them. We need only go back to look at the fifth of the famous Ten Commandments to see it:

 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12

Note the criticality here of showing honor to your parents. For as we have read, the action is tied directly to life itself. Honor your father and mother and you can live long wherever the Lord plants you. For the Israelites, that was the Promised Land, of course. For us, it’s wherever we are.

Our proverbs for today reinforce the fifth commandment in Exodus and although specific prohibited actions are mentioned, the root subject of dishonoring your parents and the associated consequences for doing so are at the heart of each. Let’s look at each one separately:

1. Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace. Proverbs 19:26

This is the NIV translation of the verse and to get a broader perspective of what Solomon was getting at, we need to look at other translations of the same verse. Consider these alternatives:

Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother are an embarrassment and a public disgrace. (NLT)

Only a shameful, disgraceful person would mistreat his father or turn his mother away from his home. (GNT)

Children who bring disgrace rob their father and chase their mother away. (CEV)

A son who mistreats his father or mother is a public disgrace. (The Living Bible)

Children who mistreat their father and run down their mother are a root of shame and disgrace. (The Voice)

I get really concerned when I am out and watch the way some children act toward their parents. It’s amazing the level of mistreatment I see and the older kids get it seems the worse the abuse becomes, as if older children feel they have gained the right to now be able to talk to their parents any way they choose. And if you think I am only referring to children 18 and below when I say older children, think again. For some of the most blatant dishonoring of parents comes when children become adults themselves. They act as if they have graduated from having to pay their parents any level of respect when the fact of the matter is that they are still children and their parents are still their parents thus the word of God still applies.

Frankly, God’s word says it best about any child who chooses to dishonor their parents. They are an embarrassment, the root of shame and disgrace not only before society but before God Himself. And living in a shameful, disgraceful fashion before God in direct violation of His commands will not turn out well for the sinful child. Look at the second proverb for today:

2. If someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness. Proverbs 20:20

Again, as we did with the prior proverb, let’s look at several other translations of the verse:

Children who curse their parents will go to the land of darkness long before their time. (CEV)

If you curse your parents, your life will end like a lamp that goes out in the dark. (GNT)

God puts out the light of the man who curses his father or mother. (The Living Bible)

Is there any more severe penalty that God can levy on a man or woman that putting out their light, sending them into eternal darkness?

I can’t think of any and yet how many times a day does a child somewhere spew out slander or angry talk or disrespect or gossip against their parents? Perhaps if they only knew about what this word of the Lord said, they would cease. It really is a life or death proposition.

Friends, I pray that we come to a day where all children take the fifth commandment and these two proverbs to heart in full obedience, paying their parents the kind of honor and respect God calls for, the kind of honor and respect that they deserve. If this happens, our world can only become a better place, the kind of world where parents and children live in harmony and peace, the kind of world that pleases God through compliance with His will, way, and word.

Won’t you do your part today and in every day that the Lord grants?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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