" HONORING PARENTS "

" Honor your Father and your Mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. " This is the first commandment with a promise attached. To live in peace for generations in the Promised Land, the Israelite's would need to respect authority and build strong families. But what does it mean to " Honor " your parents? Party, it means speaking well of them and politely to them. It also means acting in a way that shows them courtesy and respect ( but not to obey them if this means disobedience to God). It means following their teaching and example of putting God first. Parents have a special place in God's sight. Even those who find it difficult to get along with their parents are still commanded to honor them. There is a difference between obeying and honoring, to obey means to do as one is told; to Honor means Respect and Love. Children are not asked to be subservient to domineering parents. Children are to obey while under their parents' care, but the responsibility to honor parents is for life. " The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it" (Proverbs 30:17). Children must be handled with care. They need firm discipline administered in love. Don't alienate them by nagging, or deriding, or destroying their self respect so that they lose heart. Parents should care gently for their children, even if the children are disobedient and unpleasant. Ideally, of course, Christian Parents and Christian Children will relate to each other with Thoughtfulness and Love. This will happen if both Parents and Children put the others' interests above their own-that is, if they submit to one another. Until Next Time... Jim,