SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1139

“Honor Parents”

Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. – Deuteronomy 5:16

Living and working near the world’s largest retirement community has given me insight into our cultural attitude toward aging and how fragmented our family unit has become. Every day, I see the struggle of adult children caring for elderly parents as well as the opposite: elderly parents struggling to survive on their own largely abandoned and ignored by their adult children.

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. – 1 Timothy 5:8

‘Cancel culture’ is a term that is in vogue right now, but this is not a new thing. The media has been subtly working to cancel the culture of honoring parents and the importance of the family unit for decades. Think about how television programming has transitioned from The Walton’s and Father Knows Best to the likes of The Simpson’s and Married…with Children.

Take note also how TV ads have portrayed a dumbed down Dad figure as well as bumbling, incompetent parents with children who are the intelligent ones and in control. Fractured families and dishonored parents are what we are reaping from what we have sown for decades. This is a sign of the last days.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, – 2 Timothy 3:1-2

God’s Word reveals to us the example of Jesus to follow relative to honoring our parents.

Jesus balanced honoring His relationship with God, The Father and His earthly parents,

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them… – Luke 2:49-51

Jesus spent frequent time with His Father. How regularly are you in contact with your parents, checking on their well-being, maintaining a relationship with them, sharing thoughts and ideas, etc.? Do you care enough to go beyond a dutiful obligation to contact them for birthdays and holidays?

But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. – Luke 5:16 (NASB)

Jesus made provision for His mother while He was dying on the cross. As we reflect on the Passion of Christ this Easter Season, notice that as He was dying on the cross bearing the punishment for our sins, He thought to make provision for the care of His mother.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. – John 19:26-28

May the Lord give you the grace to repair relationships with your parents and to strengthen family bonds.