Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Listen to the Word

Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.  (Exodus 20:12)

One thing that makes the Fifth Commandment complicated is that some folks have parents who haven’t exactly earned a standing ovation. Some parents deserve to be humiliated, not honored, for the way they treated their kids. But what they deserve is not the issue. We are called to honor our parents regardless of how much or how little they have earned that respect.

As always, the pattern for relationships for God’s people is not how the other person treats us. The pattern is how God treats us. To put that another way: just because your mom was a jerk to you doesn’t make it ok for you to be a jerk to her. Just because your dad did you wrong doesn’t make it ok for you to do him wrong. When you do that, you are letting them bring you down to their level. You are letting them continue to wreck your life. How much respect they deserve is not the issue. God calls you to honor your parents regardless of whether or not they have earned that honoring.

Live the Word

Thank God for his perfect love for you, and ask him to help you to make that love the pattern for the way you treat others.