DO NOT (PART 15) – JOYFUL PARENTS

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.

In Christ, Mark

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

Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy the truth and do not sell it—wisdom, instruction and insight as well. The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!

Proverbs 23:22-25          

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

As we look at the ten great commandments that God gave to Moses to share with His chosen people Israel, and eventually pass onto His children like you and me, we see that the first four of the commandments deal with our relationship with Him and the other six our relationship with one another.

What I have always found fascinating about the latter six commandments is that the first one we find deals with our parents, before murder and stealing and adultery. God simply starts this list of personal relationship commandments with:

“Honor your father and your mother.” Exodus 20:12

Now, on the surface this might seem out of place but when we really think about it, it isn’t. For if we truly take this commandment to heart and seek to honor our parents, then we will never consider committing any of the other sinful actions that the remaining five commandments are pointed toward. We won’t even think about murder or stealing or adultery or lying or coveting what others have because doing so would bring disgrace and dishonor to those who bore us and raised us up.

I know I have taken this commandment to heart as I have lived my life. My parents were both great, law abiding people who invested a lot of time and energy to raise me how to live life right. The last thing I would ever want to do is give anyone the impression that it was otherwise and this is what happens when people choose to commit heinously sinful actions. Don’t we tend to wonder whether or not they were raised right? Don’t the parents typically get called into question as people wonder what kind of an upbringing the offender had?

You know it happens and sometimes it is a fair question, especially when parents did not take their responsibility to properly raise a child seriously. Sometimes, kids do grow up to a life of crime because they were given little or no direction from their parents. But there are just as many occurrences, if not more, where a child was given a proper upbringing but given the freedom to make their own choices about life in adulthood, conscientiously decided to shun all their parents had taught them concerning living right and instead opt for sinful behavior, behavior that when exposed brings shame not only on themselves but their parents by association.

As we look at our 17th Saying of the Wise today from Proverbs, Chapter 23, we find Solomon touching on this same matter of honoring one’s parents. Look at his words again:

Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy the truth and do not sell it—wisdom, instruction and insight as well. The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!  Proverbs 23:22-25

We have been looking at a series of “do not” cautions throughout the thirty Sayings of the Wise and this caution is:

“Do not” fail to listen to your father or despise your mother.

In other words, honor your father and mother.

Your parents gave you life and provided for your needs when you couldn’t care for yourself. They invested time and talent and money on you to ensure you had what you needed to make it into adulthood. We are to show them our gratitude by living in a way that brings them joy, in a way that makes them proud to say you are their son or daughter.

Indeed as we look at the words of Solomon, the benefits of honoring our parents in the way we live are all centered on joy:

“The father of a righteous child has great joy.”

“A man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.”

“May your father and mother rejoice.”

“May she who gave you birth be joyful!”

Want to know how well you have honored your father and mother? Look to whether they are filled with joy when they think about you and talk to others about what you have done in life. I can say as a parent that this is what you long to do, to watch your children grow up, live right, and give you every reason to rejoice and be glad about that. And I can say that I could not be prouder of my two daughters, Stephanie and Danielle. Nothing in these scriptures say that your children have to be perfect and don’t look for that for there is no such thing just as there are no perfect parents. But consider how well your children are conducting their lives in the sight of the Lord and if they are living right, then rejoice and be glad.

In closing, I have always said that parenting is the hardest job you’ll ever do in life but I always caveat this by saying that it will also be the most rewarding thing you will do in life. It brought me more joy than I could ever imagine and now that my children are older and well on their own, my joy only continues to grow and grow and grow,

God said, “Honor your father and your mother.” My children have done just that and have made me a joyful parent. Thanks be to God for that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com