"My child, listen when your father corrects you.
Don't neglect your mother's instruction.
what you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck."
Proverbs 1:8-9
God admonishes us to honor our Father and Mother. In fact, this was so important to GOD that HE made it the #5 Commandment in the Ten Commandments. Why is honoring our parents so important? First, it's a model of how we are to honor God, our creator. Second, God placed us with our parents according to HIS will. No matter what our parents are like, there is no getting around this point. By honoring our parents we are setting a Christian example, whether our parents are believers or not. If they see Christian love in action, that gives you credibility in sharing Christ with them.
Not only are we to honor our parents, we have a lot we can learn from them. The dude that wrote the verse above knew more about this than anyone. He was King Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived! Now before you write him off, you need to understand something. He was the son of King David, who wrote most of the Psalms. When Solomon became king, God asked him what he would like. Solomon asked for wisdom. Not only did God bless him with wisdom but also with wealth, fame, and power. Solomon became the greatest king of the times. He was the Bill Gates of the ancient world. He was also the dude that built the Temple in Jerusalem. Growing up, I'm sure Solomon listened to his parents' wisdom, after all, his Dad was king and had a wealth of experience to draw upon. Solomon also witnessed the downfall of some of his unwise brothers who didn't honor God nor heed their father.
Let me give you some wise advice. Honor your parents. Prayerfully consider their advice...they've made it this far in life so they might just have a little bit of a clue. Your parents love you. Honor them by obeying them and listening to them. Listen to their correction - gladly and without complaint. If you disagree, do so in love and with respect. Find common ground and work out those differences. Doing so will bring you great honor and will be your crown of grace. Look out for your parents, care for them as the years go by. Your parents truly have your best interests in mind. I challenge you to grow beyond yourself - take a look at things from Mom & Dad's perspective. You might just be surprised at how much they really do know and understand. You might even be surprised at how much they relate to or know about you - even things you think they don't know...I'm just sayin'!
In His Love, Cathy
No comments:
Post a Comment