Honor Your Father and Mother
God's Ten Commandments to Israel are the heart of the Old Covenant, but they are also the basic building blocks of any society that will succeed. I say that because no group of people can exist for very long without a morality that is based in reality. God is the Creator of all. He knows how He designed us, and His rules for us to live by are the most insightful list that could ever be written. We ignore them at our own peril. At the center of these commands stands a fundamental principle for us to apply. The Lord commanded that we must honor our father and our mother. (Deuteronomy 5:16) Many people are breaking this command today, either by dishonoring their parents or by ignoring them all together. This is a grievous sin, and it causes us to miss the blessings of God of prolonged days and having our lives go well. We need to promote this command or our country will surely fall apart.
Our father and mother bring us into the world, and they are equipped to raise us, because of their love for us and their experiences of life. Yes, I know that as young parents, we get help from our parents and others, but God blesses most parents with such a profound love for their children that they would do anything for them, even die for them. This parental love and care deserve honor all of our lives, from birth to death. Children should not disrespect their parents by talking back and speaking harshly to them. This goes for children of any age. We should compliment them and lift them up before others, giving thanks for all they have done for us. This is true, even for parents that do not have a godly love and do not care for their children well, because God commands us to honor them as He says, not just because of what they have done. Then, when they get older, it is our duty to care for them as they cared for us when we were young, and to do it with the dedicated love of the Lord. When we do that God will often prolong our years of life and make our life go well, because He loves to see His children living with honor toward their parents.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 6-8.