The Fifth Commandment

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I hear some good stuff from PragerU. I have been blogging about the signs of the last days, but I felt I needed to write about the Fifth Commandment. I have been a Christian for some 30 plus years and you think the Ten Commandments are basic, everyone knows them. PragerU's video on the Fifth Commandment struck a nerve with me. Honor your father and your mother. 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.  Has any one noticed how bad things are in our country? Do we think we would like to fix things? I believe I know an answer, or at least I think it is worth a try. What if all of us made an effort to honor our fathers and our mothers. As PragerU video went, we are told to love even our enemies. That is what the Bible says: But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:44. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12:33. We are to love our enemies, to love our neighbors and others. Why does the Bible tell us to honor our parents instead of to love them? Isn't it about respecting authority. Our parents are our very first authority in our lives and if we lack in honoring them, we do not have the respect for authority that we need. I heard it in church this past Sunday morning, criticizing the President. Not respecting him but being critical of our sitting President.  We see the lack of respect for Police officers and others in authority including our elected leaders. If we honor even bad parents, do we not learn to respect authority what ever it is? isn't this the real problem in our country, lack of respect for any authority? We learn it from our parents, and yes because I said so is an authoritarian answer. In the PragerU video he said something that stuck with me, not calling is the opposite of honoring. I hear one other person say to give weight to what our parents say. Not that we agree with everything they say, because every last one of us was raised by imperfect parents. But we consider the words our parents say to us and do not discard them lightly. If we were blessed we had parents, if we were super blessed we had good parents. What about someone who had bad parents, are they off the hook? I don't think so, society needs authority and for it to go well with us in the land we need to respect authority. That is why honoring parents is so important. The well being of our country depends on it. Do you think if we go ten years disrespecting our police force, the officers they hire will be better or worse? II Chronicles 7:14 tells us to turn from our wicked ways, humble ourselves and pray and God will heal our land. Perhaps one of our wicked ways is disrespecting authority.  Perhaps if we would learn to honor our parents, good and bad, we could actually turn things around. God's word has the answers for life and perhaps we really need to understand the purpose of each of the Ten Commandments. They were given for our well being. If you listen to the nightly news, things are not going well. So much fighting and slandering. Honor our parents that it way be well  with us in the land God has given us. The opposite of honoring  is not calling. I felt really honored when my kids called me on Fathers Day. God didn't say to love our parents, but to honor them. Our Country is not well, we are spiritually sick. My parents are both gone now but while they were living I did call and visit each of them when I  could. I did not agree with everything they did or said. I believe I honored them because all through the years I called and visited when I could. Imperfect though they were, I could learn from them. Dad was a hard working man all his life, and he would help anyone that asked.  Mom was a gentle soul and she too was a giver, not a taker until she was unable to even care for herself. They had good qualities as well as imperfections. I would do well to copy the good and change the bad. Honor our parents that it may be well with us in the land God has given to us. It is a command with a promise and perhaps it was because God knew we needed to respect authority for our land to prosper. Honoring our parents shows respect. God created us and he wrote the owners manual, the Bible. No where in our country is there more disrespect than in the political arena. Use to be we would respect just because of the office people hold. Not so much any more, if they are from the opposite political view, they are open to slander and disrespect. Honor our parents is a good place to start, God tells us to honor our parents that it may be well with us in the land he has given us. Our country is not well and we need to do something to fix it.  Help us and God bless, LVZ.