HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER:
By
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (April 4, 2018)
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee” (Exodus 20:12, King James Version [The Ten Commandments]).
Greetings in the Holy Name of Jesus,
My sisters and brothers, parental care unbeknownst to most of us with children, seemingly became dishonorable with hideous undertones even overtones of hatred. In most cases, on a case-by-case basis is a battlefield, highly emotionally charged and circumstantially plagued with all the good-intentions that lead us into the darkness of hell. Is that why most parents dread the hormonally-charged teenage years that leave them holding on---hanging by a thread of truth---screaming as much as their children, “I am the parent---not you” but the rebellious nature to separate still swells inside of their children, without relief; a mess? Understandably, we look to God---draw near to him and our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus for strength to bare all, in prayer in order to help us overcome and to lift us up out of the travailing for the birthing experience hardly noticeable now opens parents up to feel a far greater pain which is quite evident each day while the child goes through growing pains. How come? Honor for parents is the first commandment of promise [Ephesians 6:2, KJV] but how come, pray tell do most parents provoke their children in response to the children’s provocation of their parents---exploring the limitations set to rule their lives, breaking down the walls of control---expressing themselves in their mind’s eye view of the perceptions of reality that come out of their relationships with their friends, because mothers and fathers barely or can hardly stand the test of daily discovery.
What is the promise of living a life in honor of both the father and the mother? The promise of long life on earth is what most parents want their children to aspire to for longevity is a gift of God. According to Ephesians, one of Apostle Paul’s four “Imprisonment Letters”, Apostle Paul uplifted sinners out of the weakness of the flesh in the promise of long life to an exalted position through Christ when he said, “Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise, That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” [6:2, KJV, the Christian’s armour]. Most importantly, recently in Arizona, a woman on Easter Sunday thought she would give her son an opportunity to honor her request for God said ‘if you love me you will do as I ask”---did ask her son to get dressed to attend Easter Sunday service but her son did not get dressed which provoked the mother to use her taser on him. The son told his mother he was going to call the police and did call the police, so instead of
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attending Easter Sunday service the mother spent Easter Sunday in jail. Of course, the mother denied using the taser on her son.
We clearly see the mother provoked her son to call the police when she allegedly tased him but the mother denied that she tased her son, contrary to the evidence of the bruised area of her son’s body. Of course, the son provoked the mother when he refused to get dressed for Easter Sunday service, compelling his mother to do something more than just ask even demand him to abide by her request to get dressed for church. In Leviticus---the laws of service and worship, which was important to the Tribe of Levi---the family sect of Moses became known as the Handbook of the Priests, spoke to the seriousness of sin in God’s sight, atonement of sin, the holiness of God and the need for a mediator between God and man, also said that in this case of the son’s disobedience that the son should have feared his mother---a sign of giving the mother honor yet we find in this case the son did not fear his mother, for he told her he was going to call the police---he did not sneak out of fear [“Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God”, Leviticus 19:3, KJV]. More importantly, the mother did not know how to get her son to honor her request relying on the Word of God that her son should honor her for the gift of long life and her son should fear his mother, because of God’s love of his mother and father---a most powerful God covering the wellness of his parents to raise him and control his scheduling---attendance at church. How do we expect the Word of God, the spirit of Christ Jesus to dwell in the son when perhaps the seed was not planted but the mother continued to try to plant the seed in her 16-year-old son, who obviously thought of himself as an emancipated child---a grown man?
Presumably, the mother probably did not think that her son would reject her power and authority over him and abide by her request, in God’s love. When does a son become a grown man usually fell in the premise, “This is my house and you do as I say? As for us---those who live in this house, we are going to serve the Lord God,” or “You do as I say or leave this house.” The problem with ultimatums, you must live up to the threat and understand that your child just might decide to disobey you in your house and the child just might decide to leave your house and live elsewhere. The need to exercise rights of free citizenship does eventually become more evident when a child refuses to abide by the requests of the mother and the father or when the child decides to live somewhere else---outside of the household of his parents.
How do we draw our children back to us, hoping they will draw to us---back in the bosom of God’s love with his parents? We are losing so many of our children or are we at fault for demanding that they remain a child always---out of respect and honor even as adults, for a child will always be a child of the mother and the father---a child of God?
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In general, we say let go and let God, prevail in the child’s life and let the spirit of Christ Jesus guide the child, for he is free. The world is indeed a scary place and the fear of the world order somehow controls the parents’ need to remain always the head of the child yet the child will one day leave the nest seeking his God. The dreaded fear of what could happen must not enter in for we teach the child to fear the world, to fear man when the child must be raised to fear God in order to fear his mother and father.
In closing, the prodigal son returned, King David’s son, who conspired to take his father’s kingship, died, and in the time of Ahaziah, Ahab’s son did listen to the wicked counsel of his mother, Jezebel. LET US TRUST IN THE LORD. We pray for the fathers and we pray for the mothers by the faith of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.”Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” {Hebrews 4:1-2, KJV, The Christians’ rest]. Amen.
