The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/deuteronomy/5.htm

First Commandment – Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Second Commandment – 8‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9you shall not bow[c] down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, [d]visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and [e]keep My commandments.

Third Commandment – 11‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him [f]guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Fourth Commandment – 12‘Observe the Sabbath day, to [g]keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Fifth Commandment –

16‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

It is important to note that the first four commandments pertain to the relationship between God and us. The remaining six pertain to our relationships with each other.

What does it mean to honor? Merriam Webster’s best definition that applies here is “to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect : to regard or treat with honor“.

I know that good parenthood as declined in proportion of the decline of our society. The vast majority of parents in the past raised their children to be good citizens, to be respectful, to work hard, and most importantly, to honor and worship God. And I have no desire to group everyone in the same boat as there are still some good parents out there. But it’s not like it used to be.

I remember in my town in the 80’s when parents would give their kids money and drop them off at the local movie theater. The theater was their babysitter so they could go out and party. They themselves were not home at a decent hour, so how could they expect their children to be?

The kids ran havoc on the movie theater. Watching the movie, they did not. It was one big party. They threw drinks, they threw popcorn, they tore the upholstery on the movie seats. The owner finally had to hired monitors to watch over the theater and stop the destruction, and eventually, the theater had to close because the losses were outweighing the profits.

After the theater closed, the kids ran rampant around town. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t set fire or rape and plunder and murder, but they did great acts of vandalism.

There are two sides of this story. Were the parents raising their children in a good manner? And were the parents worthy of the honor of their children?

The Fifth Commandment doesn’t say “Honor your parents if they are worthy”, it simply says honor your parents. And as we’ve seen by the life of Jesus, not only should forgive our parents, we should honor them, despite their behaviors. Only if you are abused or neglected should you take action, but you can still honor your parents, even if they are bad parents.

For the most part however, parents are worthy of our honor. Despite any faults you might see or perceive, the fact that you have a roof over your head, have clothing to wear (even if it is thrift shop clothing), and have food in your stomach (even if it is just a bologna sandwich).

I know this is making is sound like the entire dysfunction in the parent/child relationship is the parents fault. Far from it. There are many children that frankly are spoiled, have a feeling of entitlement, look at their parents only as a pocketbook, and throw temper tantrums as if they were still in their terrible twos.

But again, that is a sign of a lack of parenting. Part of being a parent is being firm and raising your children correctly, even if it upsets them. You are their parent, not their friend. I remember once I had a work colleague that came to work, and told how his four year old called him an “SOB”. He said he should have disciplined her for it, but he thought it was cute and he was laughing too hard to discipline her. That, is not cute. That is not laugh worthy. And that certainly isn’t honor your parents. I know, she’s a four year old and doesn’t know what “honoring her parents” mean. It’s still okay to be gentle with her, but that would have been the perfect opportunity to sit her down and explain the Fifth Commandment to her. There is no age too early to start being taught about God.

I know the Book of Deuteronomy was written in different times. Children back then didn’t have cell phones, video games, or elaborate toys. They did have designer clothing, and there wasn’t much peer pressure. Children were taught respect from an early age, so it might have been fairly easy for kids in those days to “honor their parents”. But I have no doubt that God can see into the future, and He very well may have wrote this Commandment specifically for these times.

So honor your parents. Treat them with admiration and respect. They have sacrificed greatly for you, in ways you will not understand until you, yourself, becomes a parent.

And parents, make sure you live lives that are worthy of admiration and respect.

Amen.