Fifth Commandment (5 Of 12)

Now, as a new nation was beginning to be established, God gave these laws to them so they would know how to govern themselves. Why? Because a country cannot exist without regulations and laws.

Some people today feel these laws are now archaic.

Illus:Those who feel that we are past the age when we need the ten commandments remind me of the story of the man who went deep sea fishing. He and a friend, who was not known for excellence in academics, as they were heading back to the shore the man who had been piloting the boat became sleepy and turned the ship over to his friend. He told him, “See that star before us?' The man acknowledged he did. He said, "Keep your eyes on that star and aim for it and we will soon be home!' The Man was so proud to be in control that he got carried away. He soon realized the star was not in front of him, and he hollered, “Wake up boss man, show me another star. We have gone past the one you showed me.'

Many feel that we have gone past any need for the ten commandments, but listen, if a society ever needed them, we need them today.

God told Israel to govern herself by these commandments.

For example, God wants young people also be govern by Him.

The fifth commandment is addressed to them.

I. THE COMMANDMENT.

Look at verse 12, we read, Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

The first place a child learns respect is in the home, at least. When they do not learn it there, they will not respect others in authority as they go beyond home.

Illus: A man in Columbia, South Carolina has a terrible attitude toward policemen. To hear him talk, you would think every policeman is a crook and misuses his authority. This is not true, but the reason this man think this is because his parents never taught him to respect them, or anyone else.

God knew, if a society ever hoped to survive, parents would have to raise their children to honor those in authority. Much is being said about this today.

For example, nearly everyone knows now that the main reason our schools are in the mess they are in today is because parents are not faithfully working at teaching their children to behave and respect anyone who has authority over them.

Last Sunday we dealt with the fourth commandment which tells us we are to honor and respect God's day. That is, we are to recognize that God's day is not just another day to do business as usual.

This fifth commandment is similar in that God is telling us that there are some people in a child's life who are special, and deserve respect.

In other words, our parents are different from others in our life. They hold a very special place in our life.

God was leading Israel, as they became a new nation, God wanted them to know it was essential for the children of this nation respect their parents.

We would do well to do the same today, for whether a nation be young or old the people fare better when the children respect their parents.

We often critize the children today because they are not respectful to their parents and elders, but we can not hold them accountable if they have never be taught.

Illus: A mother, one day, on a train, asked her son to go and get her a glass of water. The little boy said, “I don't want to.” A Japanese boy sitting beside them, jumped to his feet and carried out her request. What was the difference? People in oriental countries place great value on respect for the elderly. They would not dream of referring to a father as '”The old man,” or to a mother as “The old woman.”

Many children today who are disrespectful have never been taught the value of honoring their parents.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HONOR OUR PARENTS?

It means a number of things, such as:

(1) “Honor” here means: "To treat with kindness.”

Some people never learned how to do this.

Illus: A boy that never learned respect grew up to be a wild, rebellious teenager. He associated with the worst friends he could find. Those so called friends used him for their selfish purposes. They abused him badly over and over. Yet, he treated them with royalty and treated his parents like they were his worst enemy.

To honor our parents means we treat them with kindness.

(2) "Honor" here means: “To obey".

The apostle Paul wrote to the young people in Ephesians, saying, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and mother which is the commandment with promise: that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth."