Three Things To Remember This Mother's Day

Exodus 20:12 (NIV) "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."

There are three things we are going to talk about from this verse:

1. What is the right kind of attitude we need to show towards our father and mother?

We are to HONOR them.

We are to recognize them and appreciate their love and concern for us.

2. Who are the persons close to us that we should always HONOR and appreciate?

The text says: Our Father and our MOTHER.

Not the father and father, nor the mother and mother.

But the man and his wife.

Each of them has a distinct personality to care for the development of a child.

3. Why do we need to HONOR them?

So that we may live LONG LIFE on the land.

This is the secret of a long life on this earth.

Love your parents.

Respect them and you will live long.

Every now and then, as a hospice chaplain, I come in contact with patients in their 80's, 90's and beyond being cared for by "children" in their 60's and or 70's.

What does that mean.

There are a lot of adult people taking care of their aging parents.

According to recent statistics, there are nearly 10 million people here in the US who are adult older than 50 and are actively involved in caring for their aging parents.

They are often called as the "sandwich" generation because they had children of their own and at the same time they have aging parents that needed simultaneous care.

They had to balance their time taking care of their children and taking care of their parents who need more and more help as they age.

This is most true also among Filipino families.

As much as possible, we want our parents to live with us under one roof.

I seldom see Filipinos sending their parents to be cared for by senior homes or facilities for the aged.

And so, they give a labor of love as a payback for a lifetime of parental care and sacrifice.

They would often say, "He (or she) did it for me. Now it's my turn to do it for him (or her)."

The number of adults taking care of aging parents has tripled in the past 15 years, and a full 25 percent of grown children are helping their parents by providing either personal care or financial assistance.

This is the way we take care and honor our parents.

The sacrifice involved in caring is staggering, not only emotionally, physically but also financially.

There was this study conducted by the Metlife Market Institute and the National Alliance for Caregiving.

They wanted to find out the economic impact of that care to the professional career of a care giving member of a family.

They discovered that when an adult children quit her job, or cut back on hours, she had just given up a substantial immediate income.

Not only that, in the long run, such action will also reduce the amount of contribution given to their Social Security retirement.

She might even give up additional years of accumulating pension benefits in the process.

When you tally the lost wages, Social Security benefits and pension benefits, the average adult child who is a caregiver for an aging mother loses about $300,000 in lifetime wages and retirement benefits.

This is a great sacrifice indeed in honoring our parents, but it is worth it.

The text says: Exodus 20:12 (NIV) "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in th eland the Lord your God is giving you."

The sacrifice maybe great, but the reward is much more greater and fulfilling.

THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER THIS MOTHER'S DAY:

1. WHAT SHOULD BE THE BEST ATTITUDE TOWARDS OUR PARENTS? WE ARE TO HONOR THEM.

Exodus 20:12 (NIV) 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."

The Greek word for honor means to "revere, to prize, or to value highly."

To honor is to give respect not only for merit done but also for rank.

For instance, many Americans disagree with most of President Obama's decisions, but they should still respect his position as the leader of our country.

You might disagree with what he says and do, but he is still our U.S. President.

In the same manner, children of all ages honor their parents, regardless of whether or not their parents "deserve" that honor.

I don't care whether your parents have hurt you in the past.

I don't care whether your parents have abandoned you in the past.

The text says that we ought to respect them and esteem them for their position as our parents.