“Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.” (De 4:10 NAS)
In my book, “Ceding the High Ground”, I took the time to go through the Ten Commandments. Although the Ten Commandments have become neglected in our present time, never-the-less they remain foundational in Christianity and our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Jesus taught us that the whole of Scripture (the Law and the Prophet) rested on these two commandments: Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor. The Ten Commandments are merely an extension of these commandments, a fundamental understanding of how we are to love God and our neighbor. The first three commandments are about loving God. The first commandment is the footing of that foundation.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Ex 20:3 NAS)
The fourth commandment is that meeting place where loving God and loving your fellow man intersects. It was intended to provide a time of rest, reflection, and fellowship with God and Man. Its benefits are many as it serves to help us maintain the proper perspective. The keeping of the Sabbath was a sign of our covenant with God.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” (Ex 20:8-11 NAS)
The last six commandments are about our relationships with each other. These commandment are basic guidelines that help us keep in mind that we are to love and respect our neighbor. These commands form the basis of righteous law. Violating these commands undermines the respect for those who were created in the image of God. If we neglect to follow these commands we sin against God Himself, for we were all created in His likeness and image, intended to fellowship with our Lord.
The first of these commandments is: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.” (Ex 20:12 NAS)
As I was writing my book this command began to take on special meaning in my understanding. As I was presenting a case for the moral high ground in education and later the subject of our identity, I began to see this command as foundational. I began to see it as the footing of the commands that follow. Failure to fulfill this command has a crippling effect on all of our moral and spiritual life.
Parents are the first place we as children encounter authority. God’s plan was to use this as a path to lead us into a relationship with Him, our Heavenly Father. Our first duty is to acquire knowledge and our parent’s duty is to present us with true knowledge. Without the proper respect for our teacher the road ahead becomes bumpy and our lives unstable. A healthy fear is advantageous and will guard us from many sorrows in the future. The position of honor and respect is of utmost importance for parents to fulfill their duty to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.” (Eph 6:1-3 NAS)
When children become old enough to understand, this commandment is directed to them. Children are to submit to their parent’s guidance and instruction willingly. It is important that they see this as instruction that has come from God himself and that it is intended for their well being. Until they are old enough to understand, it is up to the parents to exercise their authority to apply the wisdom of God in the education of their children, for oddly enough the fulfillment of this command begins with the mother and father.
Parents have been given a position of authority over their children. In recognition of the responsibility that this position holds, parents need to strive to live worthy of the respect their children are to give them. Following the example of our Heavenly Father, parents are to exercise their authority for the benefit and will-being of their children. Parents are to teach a strict adherence to the Law of God. Foremost on the top of the list is obedience to parents. Just like our relationship with our Heavenly Father it is important that we begin with obedience. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding will follow if they are built on the foundation that begins with obedience.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Pr 1:7 NAS)
A health fear is foundational. Children need to have a fear of their parents, and they will acquire a health fear if they are disciplined correctly by their parents. The sooner children understand that there are consequences to sin the easier their life will be. Disciple needs to be swift and sure. If we are to reveal to our children what it is like in the Kingdom of God we must exercise our authority with grace and justice. The world they are entering does not adhere to God’s standards and without instructions from God’s Word they will have false expectation. Judgment in this World is not always swift and not always just. When the kingdoms of this World become the kingdom of our Lord all this will change. Our job as parents is to prepare our children for this event.
As our culture drifts from the concepts of Biblical authority, most parents no longer teach their children the proper honor and respect necessary for them to fulfill their duty properly as they attempt to instill Godly moral values. As their children mature to adulthood they struggle with the Law of God because they never learned to submit to authority. Strict adherence to the commandments of God has become a rarity even amongst those raise in “Christian” families. Why? Has God gotten soft on sin? Absolutely not! Sin will be dealt with. But people have lost their fear of God and they stand in extreme danger.
I believe a lot of our problems stem from the neglect of this one commandment. Honor needs to be instilled at a fundamental level. If it isn’t we end up right where we are today, in a lawless society where the unrighteous are respected more than the righteous. Our once godly nation is collapsing before our eyes. Evil and lawlessness are rampant all because we as a society have lost our fear of God. And it all began when we failed to teach our children proper respect for their parents.
In the days when Christ walked the earth, the religious people had become legalistic, but not law abiding, for they had lost their fear of God and had become arbiter of law. Interestingly when Jesus addressed this issue he used this commandment to illustrate his point. He said, “You have failed to Honor you Father and Mother”. This is the first commandment with a promise. This is not just a commandment for little children. Neither is it simply there to give parents power over their children. This commandment is foundational for teaching us the obedience necessary for us to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Faith and obedience go hand in hand. Children disobey their parents because they don’t trust their parent’s wisdom. They think they know better than their parents about what is best for themselves. Likewise disobedience to God shows a lack of faith in God. The true sign of faith in God is our obedience to His instruction. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Psychology has convinced people that teaching children strict obedience to parents is unnecessary and detrimental to their development. God knows better, and has put this commandment as head of the instructions regarding our relationships with each other. Treating people with respect begins at home. Respect for authority and law are necessary for a civil society. Honor and respect for God and Christ Jesus leads us to salvation and reconciliation with our heavenly Father.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.” (Ex 20:12 NAS)
“Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.” (De 27:16 NAS)
Bob Gunderson