EDITORIAL | Sarah Bryant ~ (Vol. 4#2)
Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God has given thee.1
• · •
It has only been in the last year that I have realized the great importance of this verse. Of course, I knew it must be very important to God since it is the sixth commandment, and it came with a promise. But it is such a hard thing to do...
Gradually, the Lord has convicted me and showed me what my parents have sacrificed for me. He has given me a love and appreciation for their sacrifices-sacrifices to raise us as a generation for the Lord’s Kingdom; to give us a secure and loving home; to raise us in a God-fearing lifestyle; and simply being there to mentor and train us.
Numerous times in the Bible God uses the example of disobedient and disrespectful children to their parents as a warning of destruction. This should be a warning to us-obviously it is vital to His blessing or cursing of our nation. Because the way we treat our parents reflects, ultimately, how we regard the Lord.
Everything I ever hope to be and anything I will ever accomplish is because of my parents’ devotion and constant guiding me. It is a good thing to realize this, but hard to remember! Not to just say it, but to mean it, and know it in our hearts. If you think about it, you can realize more what they have done. May we not forget what our parents have done for us.
It is a command to us to honor and obey our parents. A good way to do this is to serve them. There are several ways that any daughter can serve and honor her parents.
I want to share some of the ways God has opened my eyes to respecting and honoring my parents. I have so much to grow in and am lacking in so many areas. Please pray for me!
•We can show our gratitude to our parents in so many ways...just going out of our way to make them know we appreciate them, and making them comfortable. Show them you support them on a daily basis-be willing to give up your “free time” to do something for them. Invest time in your relationship with them and show you care.
•Prayer is a wonderful way to support and bless our parents.
•Fathers are our protectors and authority. We should show them our gratefulness for that. We can be available to them to help out with the things that they could use our help and/or support. Take pride in being your father’s ambassador and daughter! Talk of him with admiration and honor-don’t speak of him as if he is an annoying little brother. He carries such a big responsibility being the leader of a family. Pray for him often.
• Our mothers can use our support as they follow their husband and serve him. Not always is there time for them to do all this! Caring for a houseful of children and schooling them and cooking for them and just existing is time-consuming. We can be their right hand and help with the household jobs. In this way we are helping to free their time to serve their husband more and also giving them a break so they can be refreshed! When we practice submissiveness to our father and serving our mothers, we are not only honoring them, but also preparing ourselves to be keepers-at-home (Lord willing) in the future. This preparation will make the transition easier to having our own household and serving a husband.
•When we speak of or refer to our parents, our tone of voice and actions show how we think of our parents, as I mentioned earlier. They are our authorities and we should honor them for this. Praise them and refer to them as an authority we appreciate. I want others to know by my speech that my parents are the best. We are their ambassadors; act in a way of which they would be proud.
•Serving our parents does not nessesarily mean we are honoring them, because we can serve with a bad attitude or wrong motives. Our attitude must be honoring to them.
•This applies in our daily association with our parents also. “Let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.”2 Such a difficult subject! Our home life is the most important area to work on. We need to treat our parents in our words not only to others but everyday-all the time-with love and admiration. When their back is turned, do not disregard what they have said-especially around your siblings! It breeds rebellion and hard feelings. This reminds me of a particular time when one of my siblings mis-repeated something he said Mom had said. I foolishly replied, “That’s crazy!” A few days later, I realized how much that had had an impact, not only to my sibling, but also Mom. She heard what I’d said and later noted something about me calling her crazy. It had hurt our relationship and had given her hard feelings towards me, because I was talking behind her back. I didn’t mean to criticize her, but that is exactly what I did and it had bad consequences! I need to be very careful to be respectful.
When we honor our parents and obey them as God has commanded, God will bless that. This is part of the fulfillment of the Promise that comes with the sixth commandment: “That thy days may be long.” This does not mean that we as individuals will live long. It means that our family’s Christian lineage will continue and be blessed. He will bless our obedience to Him. Let us remain faithful to Him.
This is the decision that will decide our children’s future.
For Him,
NOTES: 1Exodus 20:12; 2 1Timothy 5:4
