To learn of the first ’duty’ that a godly child or young person is to perform, we want to go back in time to the occasion when Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt to a mountain called Sinai.
Exodus 19:17-18, 20, "And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up."
20:1-12, "Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving-kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER."
What does it mean to "HONOR OUR FATHER AND MOTHER"?
I believe that the Scriptures teach that the way to ’honor’ our parents is to:
(1) Obey them,
(2) Respect them, and
(3) Never cause them pain.
Let’s look at these three points a bit closer:
1. OBEYING PARENTS.
In Ephesians 6:1, the Apostle Paul instruct the young people: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."
Can we only obey our parents partially or only sometimes? Paul answers that question in Colossians 3:20, "Children, BE OBEDIENT to your parents IN ALL THINGS, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord."
Yes, we must obey everything our parents tell us to do and not to do - even if it seems dumb, unfair, or unpleasant. (Of course, Paul is assuming that your parents would not ask you to do something that is contrary to God’s Will, nor stop you from performing your spiritual responsibilities to God.)
Paul further states that there is a beneficial reason why we should obey our Dads and Moms - Ephesians 6:1-3, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ’Honor your father and mother’ (which is the first commandment with a promise), SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH."
Many young people find themselves in trouble because they were disobedient and rebellious towards their parents’ counsel and guidance. There are many adults who are facing terrible problems in life ... carrying much guilt, pain, and sorrow because they didn’t take heed to their parents’ instruction and discipline while they were young.
Proverbs 19:20, "Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days." What is the value of being wise? Proverbs 15:24, "The path of life leads upward for the wise, that they may keep away from Sheol below."
2. RESPECTING OUR PARENTS.
Adults and parents are oddities to you young folk aren’t they ?! They seem to live in a different world. They seem to think strangely or, at least, differently. They often say peculiar things that sound dumb. They live weird lifestyles and like odd things. And, boy, they can get themselves in the most strange situations, sometimes!
You don’t fully understand them and you think that sometimes they surely don’t understand you.
But, you know, as you put on years and reach adulthood, you’ll find that you begin to understand where your parents were coming from. Until that comes about, however, we need to respect our parents - respect their ideas, their manner of life, their likes and dislikes, and their authority!
Actually, God not only wants us to respect our parents, but all older adults:
Leviticus 19:32, "You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the LORD." This simply means that we are to submit to and honor our elders.
Proverbs 16:31, "A gray head is a crown of glory; If it is found in the way of righteousness."
This proverb is talking about the fact that the older we get, the more knowledge and wisdom we have gained about life. This is especially so if the older person has followed God’s righteous commandments because that means they have had the valuable experience of having applied God’s will to life situations. Older, mature Christians should be highly respected and listened to. We can learn so much from them.
3. NEVER CAUSE OUR PARENTS PAIN.
You may be saying to yourselves - ’what does he mean by this? I would never hurt my mother or father. I would never hit my mother or inflict a wound on Dad!’
Well, I doubt that any of you would physically attack your parents.
However, have you ever: disobeyed a command that your parents gave you? Have you ever broke one of their rules? Told a lie? Resisted their authority?
Played or associated with friends and companions that do bad things or your parents don’t like you to be with?
If you answer "yes" to any of these things, you have HURT your parents! You have brought sorrow!
All of these things that I have just mentioned to you are called ’foolish things’ by wise King Solomon. An the one who does these things, he calls them a ’fool’ or ’foolish child’.
Listen to some of his proverbs:
"A foolish child is a grief to their father and bitterness to her that bare them."
"He who begets a fool does so to his sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy."
"A foolish child is a grief to his mother."
Proverbs like these go on and on. How much better are these:
"Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother."
"The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will be glad."
Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her rejoice who gave birth to you."
Boys and girls, let me tell you about your parents’ love. There is nothing that you can do that can cause your father and mother not to love you. A parent’s love is the strongest and most enduring love that exists with the exception of God’s love for you.
You can disobey and disrespect your parents but that won’t make them stop loving you. It only hurts them.
I have visited many jails and prisons and seen older teenagers and young adults behind bars, being punished for having done very bad things. Bad things that their parents tried to tell them to avoid. But, because they were disobedient and rebellious toward their parents and other wiser adults, they are behind bars.
I have witnessed these jailed or imprisoned youngsters being visited by their fathers and mothers. Their love for their children motivates them to be there. And, after visiting time is up, I see these fathers and mothers leave with tears of anguish rolling down their cheeks. Their wayward children have broken their hearts.
Children, honor your fathers and mothers. Obey them. Respect them. Learn all you can from them. God promises that if you do, you life will be so much more joyful and successful.
Make your parents proud and glad. You will never regret it.
