God's Top Ten: Honor Thy Father And Thy Mother Series

Central Christian Church

St Petersburg, FL

October 17 2002

Joe Bedy

Commandment # 5 has a promise with it. God’s promises are often conditional if you do this, then I will do this for you.

Exo 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Some things we dad’s have taught our children:

Don’t ask me, ask your mother.

Close the door; were you raised in a barn?

Don’t worry; it’s only blood.

A little dirt never hurt anyone; just wipe it off.

Keep your eye on the ball.

This will hurt me a lot more than it will hurt you.

Do I look like I am made of money?

We’re not lost!

No, we’re not there yet.

As long as you live under my roof, you’ll live by my rules.

I’ll tell you why; because I said so, that’s why.

You throw like a girl.

I’m not sleeping; I was watching that show.

I’m not just talking to hear my own voice.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

What did I just get finished telling you?

Don’t make me stop this car!

What part of “no” don’t you understand?

If you’re gonna be dumb, you’ve gotta be tough.

Keep it up and I will give you something to cry about.

Do you want to cry inside or outside.

Boy, I brought you into this world and I can take you out. Its no problem for me to make another one of you.

Things mom taught us:

Hey you get out there and cut that grass, put your shoes on first, don’t come running to me if you cut off both your feet.

"If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can’t go to the store with me,"

"If everyone else jumped off a bridge would you do it too?"

"If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.

Boy you eat every bean and pea on your plate.

"If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they’re going to freeze that way."

"If you don’t pass your spelling test, you’ll never get a good job!"

You put on clean underwear before you leave this house, if you get hit by a car and go to the hospital you won’t want them to see your underwear dirty.

(if you get hit by a car, are your underwear going to be clean?)

"What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you... Don’t talk back to me!"

"When you get to be my age, you will understand," or, "I will explain it all when you get older."

"Just wait until your father gets home."

You are going to get it when I get you home.

"One day you will have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you’ll see what it’s like! I can’t wait!"

God has assigned our parents to us.

And they are ours just as we are theirs, whether we have come to them biologically or chosen by some other means.

Now we are not going to kid ourselves here tonight.

We recognize that not all parents are perfect.

Cathi shared with me the story of a 9-year-old girl removed from her mother last week, because the mother’s boyfriend was allowed to have sex with the little girl anytime he wanted. When they wouldn’t let her go to the bathroom from the dinner table and she urinated on the seat, the mom rubbed her face in it until her face was raw. It was a wicked infection that put her in the hospital and where the authorities sought out the truth.

Mom and boyfriend are in jail.

For most of us although are parents were imperfect they were not that bad.

But did you ever find yourself saying, “I just don’t know what to do with my parents?”

We do have an answer for that…

3. God has given us instruction on how we are to treat our parents (Exodus 20:12).

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

We are told to honor our parents.

The word “honor” means to show respect, to reverence, even to hold in awe.

It has this meaning to it that we are NOT to take our parents, their authority or our care for them lightly.

Now there certainly comes a time when we are no longer under our parents authority, when we establish our own households and we don’t live under their roof.

However, no matter what our age (since this is a timeless command), we are to treat our parents with high esteem.

We are to treat them with the greatest care.

This is the commandment that changes direction in the scriptures.