Happy Monday Everyone!

How have you all been? Today we get to the 5th commandment given to Moses by Almighty God at Mount Sinai eons ago. I say eons to challenge your thinking, for what is time to God who is outside of time? What God said thousands of years ago is still relevant today, right? I mean, He said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens…” (Genesis 1:14) referring to the sun, moon and stars, and they’re still here… still unmistakably relevant, ha! How cool is it, to realize the power of God’s words? So, passé is a non sequitur. How have you been regarding these 10 Commandments?

Thus far, we have covered the first four commandments. I’ve also taken the angle of seeing these commandments in terms of love. Oh blessed love, the finest and truest of all litmus tests for the real Christian! And that is the whole point… to stop playing pretend or to stop being confused or worse, to stop being all manner of deceived concerning our “Christian-ness” by seeing if and how we love God and others. Okay… the first four:

1.      No other gods = Our love toward God is loyal
2.      No idols = Our love toward God is faithful
3.      No taking Lord’s name in vain = Our love toward God is reverent
4.      Observe Sabbath, keep it holy = Our love toward God is set apart (untainted)

Now the next six concern our fellow man. And the 5th can be found in your Bible here:

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

And Paul refers to it in the New Testament here:

Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first command with a promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

How about that?!! Growing up, did you obey your parents? How about now, having grown up, do you honor your parents? Just now, I am seeing God said “Honor” and the Holy Spirit through Paul said “Obey”. Is it right to say that one way honor manifests itself is through obedience? Well, to honor can mean to esteem. And to esteem is to regard highly. And, so yes, I think it is natural to conform to what we highly regard.

How so? Well, as kids, think about how we so highly regarded the gang we hung out with that we would conform to that group’s dos and don’ts. Or think of brands… like Sony or Starbucks, how we so highly regard them that we must-buy-their-products, for no other brand will do… And hopefully, having such a high regard for God and His ways, we Christians gladly conform our lives to His teachings. I think honor and obey can logically go together, don’t you? And in terms of love… I would suggest the 5th command is also suggesting love is respectful.

Think back to your growing up. When I look back at how rebellious I was towards my parents, I understand now how unloving I was. My doing what I wanted despite their wishes demonstrated I didn’t regard their directions/ admonishments/ opinions very highly, if at all! Now that I am a parent, I can see how this issue of respect is vital to a person’s upbringing. Personally, I could have avoided a lot of heartache if I just listened to and obeyed my parents more. As kids, I don’t think it is easy to understand how much our Mommy’s and Daddy’s love us and want the best for us.

I also know some of our parents were not the best role models either. And perhaps some were abusive. I’ve struggled with forgiving my folks for some of the things they said and did to me… but forgiving them was/ is the right thing to do. And Christians need to come to grips with what God is commanding here. Don’t plead the 5th, obey it!

Frankly, I am appalled when I see young kids disrespect their parents nowadays. And I’m equally appalled when those parents allow it. Anyhow…

I just had another thought… Christians should actually highly regard everyone else. Isn’t that the right attitude? I mean our parents are special people we know, surely we are to honor them… if everyone, how much more our own flesh and blood?

But Jim, you don’t know what they did to me! I may not, but what does it say about their spiritual condition if they did such and such? Perhaps you need to share the light with them…

The other part of the command, the part that Paul says is a promise, is that of longevity. I can just see how (generally speaking) kids that are taught to respect and obey their parents develop a healthy sense of respect for authority. They are (generally speaking) not those who may possibly evolve from undisciplined trouble-makers to the point of grief-makers. Perhaps the more you keep your cool and stay out of trouble, (by the prerequisite parental training and subsequent honor towards them) the longer you’ll live.

All I know is that God’s hand in our affairs can be mysterious. I am certain His grace has spared us many many times! I’m planning on living to 100 years old, how about you? 😉

Lastly, I ask you all… who’s your ultimate father? Do you think the 5th commandment applies to Him?

Comments/ questions encouraged!

Peace,
Jim