What about the parents?
I’ve had the blessing of growing up in a context in which parents were an integral part of the raising of youth as God designed that it should be. As I grow older, I begin to see how lucky I was to be raised apart from our culture’s ideal model of child raising.
I have gotten to experience the blessing of being raised my whole life by Mom and Dad both of whom have cared for me beyond my imagination. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to discipline or withhold a blessing from a child whom you love, yet my parents have both loved me this way on repeated occasions.
But while I am reaping the eternal rewards of having godly parents, I see that many of the post-modern youth culture have built themselves a society of deliberate orphans*.
I have recently looked at the various titles of media that is uniquely focused to the youth culture and I have found a common trait. So many of them (and I mean a lot) portray young adults or young teens as protagonists who have some way or another been separated from their parents and must now endeavor to fulfill their destiny whatever it may be. Parents are no longer part of a youth’s plan to succeed. Now it seems that parents are obstacles to fulfilling the youth’s dreams (I am speaking from experience).
Indeed, it is sad that we live in a culture that not only accepts adolescent rebellion; it seems that our culture has grown to expect rebellion. Disrespectful children do not seem to be the exceptions any more.
It is a sad reality that the sinful attitude that leads to this rebellion is not unfamiliar even to us as Christians and causes us to distort God's image in us.
* * *
Exo 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”
When I was younger, I might have heard this verse and thought “This verse means that I need to obey Mom and Dad ‘happy way, right away, and all the way.’” I’m not sure I gave this gut interpretation of the verse a second thought until somewhat recently.
This is not to say that this was an incorrect interpretation of the scripture. The problem with that interpretation is that is an incomplete interpretation of that scripture. The command does not say you shall not disobey Mom and Dad nor does it say you shall not dishonor Mom and Dad. The command is not instructing the God’s people to abstain from a certain behavior but it instructs them to pursue a certain behavior (it is one of only two out of the Ten Commandments that does so). It clearly says that you are to “honor your father and your mother.”
Why is this so important to God? God instituted the family to show us something about Himself. God calls Himself our Father and whether we like it or not our perception and reverence of our parents is a good indication of, if not directly related to, our reverence of God as our Heavenly Father.
God takes on a similar role as our parents do. Or is it better said our parents take on a similar as God does in shaping their children. They love them and love to bless them. They teach them in the way of wisdom. And, when need arises, they discipline their children. Our response to this authority that our parents exercise over us will affect our response to God’s authority over us.
Granted, our parents are sinners, are imperfect, and will make mistakes. But though they are imperfect human beings , we, as children, still have our fifth commandment to obey. This is a non-conditional commandment. This is not a commandment that is ever to be broken. No matter how my parents act and treat me, God has charged me to honor them. (I thank God that my parents are not hard at all for me to honor and characteristically show God’s grace to me)
We (assuming a Christian audience raised by Christian parents) are especially responsible to obey this commandment. Because our parents are uniquely equipped to take on their God-given role, we are uniquely responsible not to abuse this blessing and in addition I believe, uniquely guilty when we do abuse it.
Finally, I do not think this would be complete if I did not seek to explicitly obey this commandment and honor my mom and my dad.
Mom and Dad, you are simply and sincerely the best parents. Your faithfulness to love me when I even hated your authority, your teaching when I was stupid and foolish, your blessing me when I was undeserving, and your patience with me when I was rebellious are things that I am truly grateful for. You have taken up the daunting task of emulating God’s character in my life very nobly. I can honestly say that it is not at all hard for me to think of God’s love for His children and relate it to your love for me. Because you have emulated God in your training of me, I am truly grateful to you. I love you.
*Phrase coined by Dr. Albert Mohler in his message on the 5th Commandment available for download here. It's a great message and is worth a listening.
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