SOUNDING
OUT:
Honoring Mom
I work hard at showing Ferne my appreciation,
and I have tried hard to maintain contact with my mother
and keep our relationship sweet. It is nice to have a
day of special recognition for our mothers. However, it
doesn't have to just be done on the second Sunday in May.
We can do it any time, and see the profit of God's exhortation
to honor our mothers and fathers.
Ephesians 6:1 is frequently one of the
first memorization verses we teach our children. However,
we frequently stop short in not requiring them to also
learn and live verses 2 and 3.
Ephesians 6:1-3:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is
right.
Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment
with promise;)
That it may be well with thee [individually], and thou
mayest live long on the earth.
"For this is right!" Thank
God for mothers who dare to instill in their children
the difference between right and wrong. Obedience is right.
Honoring our fathers and mothers is the first commandment
with promise. This is a reference to the fifth of the
"Ten Commandments." I love David Letterman's
Top Ten lists. They are usually pretty funny. However,
the original top ten list came down the mountain with
Moses.
The Ten Commandments deal with boundaries
in two relationships. They outlined the primary obligations
of the Children of Israel to God and to one another. The
first commandment in the second category orders us to
honor our parents. This command comes before "thou
shalt not kill," and is the first commandment regarding
our relationships with other people. It comes with promise.
The promise is listed in Exodus 20:12.
Exodus 20:12:
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy [collectively
as a nation] days may be long upon the land which the
LORD thy God giveth thee.
This commandment was placed first in
the second category because honoring parents is about
strong families and strong families are of crucial importance
to the welfare of any people. Strong, respectful, loving
families are the bedrock strength of any society, and
they produce strong, respectful, loving children. When
the Children of Israel honored their parents, God promised
their days would be long so they could enjoy the inheritance
God provided for them.
In the same way, I think our enjoyment
of our spiritual heritage will be enhanced and enjoyed
longer as we similarly honor our parents. When the Children
of Israel left Egypt, they left slavery. They were now
free and needed to learn the meaning of self-respect,
healthy pride, and honor. Moses wasn't talking about simply
obeying parental orders. He was talking about something
much deeper, living in a way that brought honor to parents...
living in a way that might give them a reason to feel
proud. Of course, obedience is part of this, but it is
obedience born of respect and obligation, not legalism.
It should be an obedience born out of the strength of
the relationship, not a prescribed regimen.
When the Pharisees "jumped"
Jesus for allowing his disciples to break the tradition
of the elders, Jesus "jumped" them for not honoring
father and mother. The traditions of the elders were supposedly
developed to help people fulfill their obligations to
God and others. However, over the years, the traditions
became more important than the basic values they originally
represented. The laws became more important than the people
they were designed to profit and bless. So Jesus attacks
the Pharisees for substituting their lifeless traditions
for the life-giving power of God's Word.
In Part I of LIGP hour #4, John handles
Matthew 15:1-11 where Jesus confronts the Pharisees about
how they hold fast and promote their tradition when it
stood in direct opposition to God's Word. He got pretty
excited about it if I remember right, and rightly so.
Jesus certainly took issue with the Pharisees regarding
it. "Honoring" mother and father is a big deal
to God, and it should be to us also.
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