The Fifth Commandment ...the Wayfarer 5/14/14

5/14/14

The Fifth Commandment

Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

(Exodus 20:12)

This is a commandment that has been, and continues to be neglected by a large majority of our society.

Our parents gave us life, nourished us when we were too young to take care of ourselves, cared for our every need, which allowed us to have a fuller, and better life, than they themselves had.

 It angers me to see so many elderly people shuttled away to a nursing home, and left to the devices of an uncaring institution for their final days. All too often today’s children are so engrossed with their own life, and search for money that the parents are forgotten, ignored, and left in the “care of others to complete a life devoted to the children abandoning them.

Another violation of this commandment comes in the form of “knowledge”.

 Today’s children firmly believe that all knowledge and wisdom is at their disposal in the universities and other institutions available to “teach” them, and that somehow they are smarter than those who have gone before them.

These smart people can’t tell you the names of all the plants around them, or their uses as could the old ones.

They can’t, for the most part grow a garden and be self-sufficient, relying instead, completely, on the local grocery store.

Some can’t even tell you which animals their morning bacon and eggs comes from, much less raise, collect and prepare it for themselves.

 Yet they smugly make fun of those who cling to the old methods.

Even our leaders smugly denigrate those who cling to God and guns as though we are less intelligent for caring about the things that are important in life.

They forget the wisdom that is acquired only by the years of pain, sorrow, joy and love that only the older folks have lived.

When seeking advice in life’s problems, parents are, most often, not given consideration in the equation. Instead children seek advice from peers, or from books, and “feel good” sociologists, and others whose only interest is in selling their current book, or their hourly rate for being consulted.

I have been most fortunate in life to have had many elderly friends and relatives, as well as my own parents, to consult with about life’s interesting twists and turns, that never seem to follow the map we draw for ourselves in our youth.

Love your parents; allow them to share their love, and the learning of a lifetime with you. Try to understand that one day, you too will age.

That day may seem distant now, but the rapidity with which it approaches will soon surprise you. Think about how you wish to be treated when you reach that point in your life, and attempt to comprehend the hurt that is so often unnecessarily caused by intentional or unintentional neglect.

They will not always be there. Make the time that you have with them special and memorable while you can.

I have many regrets in life; among them is the misspent time in youth that could have easily been shared with my parents and elderly friends.

I also have many fond memories and a wealth of information I never would have had had I not spent the time with them that I did.

This commandment, when not followed is also a broad road to the destruction of our society, another path to chaos and lawlessness!

This having been said, it is also time that parents cease abdicating the responsibility that was the reason for God having given this commandment.

That responsibility begins with that parent understanding that their own guidance needs to come from God, that they need to keep the First Commandment both in mind and in heart and establish the importance of God’s authority in the lives of themselves and their children.

Paul gave guidance that is appropriate to both the church, and the home when writing to us through his letter to Titus:

“The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”

(Titus 2:3-5)

I began here simply because of the importance of the mother in the home, the one who brought the child being raised into the world, and who, of all people should, and usually does, hold the most love, care and consideration for that child.

The first teacher a child has is his mother. It is in the first few years of life that character is developed, morality established, and perceptions of how to live are formed.

It is through the character of the grandmothers, and mothers, by extension that we become who we are in life despite the additional influences that we later come into contact with.

What we learn is determined, not only by the actual lessons taught, but by the example of the life we see lived. It is therefore critical that that example be one of Christian living.

Note the things Paul admonishes in the aged women: “In behavior that becomes holiness.” A child is often most influenced by the belief or lack of belief in Christianity and morality by the example set by their mothers and grandmothers. The male is most usually absent for much of the formative time, a necessity to provide for the physical needs of the family.

 Their example is important to the child, but the child is more exposed to the female of the home due to that absence. Children brought up in a Godly atmosphere more readily accept the truth of the gospel if they have seen that truth in action at a young age.

This was the reasoning in determination of Jewishness through the genealogy of the child’s mother. The child traced his lineage through the father, but religion was and often still is determined by the faith of the mother.

Next Paul mentions “not false accusers.” The society where Titus found himself implanted was rife with the practice of those seeking every teaching around, gossip, false accusation and general busybody activity abounded.

These are all things that Paul warns about in several of his epistles. He does so because of the nature of people in general a being vulnerable to these acts.

The very effort required by rearing a child, keeping a home and providing for the needs of a husband and family is exhausting, but, the focus of attention must continually be on both the physical growth, and spiritual growth of that child, and whether priority is given to things, or to the rewards intended by God.  

The next admonition is that they not be given to much wine. As I stated previously, excess alcohol diminishes the mental and physical capability to provide the example that we are expected to provide our young.

I would add to alcohol the use of other substances that alter our mental acuity, lessen our concern for morality, and remove the required self-control that is required of us.

In our own society those substances not only abound despite the laws against the use of most of them but are a common practice not only in the home, but throughout the expanse of our daily lives, work, leisure time, and are riddling our education system as well.

They extend to old, young and all age groups universally and erode the essence of what Christ intended our lives to be.

Paul says they are to be teachers of good things. These good things are the morality and values by which the children need to live their lives in order to even comprehend the teachings of Jesus.

Next Paul says that the reason for this is to teach the young women to likewise be examples for the next generations.

 Sober has already been defined, and I need not elaborate on the word. It is the same for women as it is for men.

To love their husbands is next. This is given because Jesus said that when we marry, our mate becomes the center of our attention, above all other considerations of family.

Marriage is to be a special relationship between a man and a woman, with each more occupied with the needs of the other than their own. It cannot be a one Way Street, with only one partner devoted to the marriage, but both must be equal participants in its sanctity.

This is why we see so many divorces, and live in relationships today. One partner cannot make a marriage work, it takes both, and it takes both to bring a child to the understanding of why any respect or honor is given anyone but themselves, this is not taught with words, but with the actions of those doing the teaching.

To love their children is the next thing defined as important to the character of young women.

In years past, this requirement was almost a given quality possessed by all who were mothers. Unfortunately, I find that it no longer hold true in many cases today.

The love that is required supersedes the needs and wants of the mother in her own life.

Far too many today are completely engrossed in themselves, giving no heed to the needs of anyone but themselves. This includes husbands, so called boy-friends, and most especially children. The children are physically and spiritually neglected because of this selfishness.

The first duty of any mother should be the well-being and spiritual needs of the child. This means placing one’s desires and ambitions second to those needs of that child.

Next is the word discreet, defined by my bible and Zondervan’s dictionary as sensible.

Sensible means the use of common sense in the way that you live your life as well as the required morality and values that you first must have in order to teach!

Chaste is next on Paul’s list. Keeping true to the vows made to give the use and love of her body only to her husband despite the temptations and seductions that she finds in others, another value no longer taught by a society that worships self instead of God, caring only for the immediate gratification of the minute, taking no heed of a soul that is eternal, or of what is being taught other souls who must and will answer for what is being worshipped.

Keepers at home is more than maintaining a clean house for the family, it means to keep the home in such a way as to maintain the faith and love asked, and demanded of us, by Jesus. It is more than the physical acts of cleaning and cooking and doing the laundry and other chores that may be shared by others. It is keeping the essence of the family unit in accordance with God’s law in prominent honor to the best of her ability.

Good is the next word used as a requirement for young women to aspire to. This encompasses all that has already been covered and as much more as she is able to give to the family unit.

Obedient to their husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed is next.

This will no doubt raise the hackles of any feminist readers, and cause consternation in others who find themselves in abusive relationships.

As to the feminists, obedience to and placing your needs in accordance to those of your husband is a critical part of what a marriage is!

To those in abusive relationships, obedience does not extend to the endurance of abuse that of itself shows the lack of commitment to that marriage by your partner.

A real marriage is a loving and caring relationship that enhances the lives of both partners, and does not relegate one to slavery in any form.

This obedience that is required, if not followed, is an affront to God himself as it was He who personally instituted this sacred relationship.

It is God, to whom answer will be given in judgment, not man.

It is God, both parents and children, will face in that judgment.

It is God alone that will look at the life lived and compare it to the life intended to have been lived.

Jesus left a single commandment; that we love one another as He loved us.

The obedience to that Commandment; or failure to obey it is easily discerned by the observance of the obedience to that 5^th commandment as given by God that is so often ignored by so many.

Honor begins with the remembrance of what has been taught, and is evidenced in the lives of those who cannot keep that memory from its reflection in the life lived.

The only love that is greater than the love given by parents, and mothers in particular, is the love given us by GOD who formed us before even placing us in the womb of that mother.

That love, given by God, is the love that should be taught in the home, and should be shared with the world through the lives of those having received and accepted it for themselves, along with the requirements and admonishments that come along with it.

That love is attainable, even for those who did not find it within the home, simply by seeking it where it WILL always be found, through Christ Jesus!

Though this particular sermon was intended for the celebration of Mother’s day, and the celebration of a mother’s love for their children, That 5^th commandment needs to be remembered and followed in conjunction with the more important 11^th Commandment, the one left us by Jesus, exemplified in totality by His sacrifice for us, each day of life, not just on special occasions or on Sundays, or given only the lip service it is given in the temples and churches.

Failure to follow that simple fifth Commandment is failure to follow the more important 11^th.

Failure to follow the 11^th is to have ignored, and to have denied the very reason for Christ’s being given to us, and in fact the reason for our placement on this ball of mud to begin with.

If you cannot love and honor those closest you, those you can see, there is no ability to love God, who I assure you, you WILL see.

I remain as always, still and yet that imperfect creature I am, striving for the perfection offered through the love given me, and that that is required of me to be given, a simple sinner, saved by the grace of God, whose love exceeds all comprehension, through faith in that love that was given by His Son and continues to be given by that same Son, the Son that continually honors that 5^th Commandment that in turn made known by Him the requirement of the 11^th.

I remain, also, ever the soldier, chosen long ago to serve, continuing that service despite those who refuse to honor either the 5^th, or that more important 11^th commandment given us.

2 Timothy 1:12
 ¹²For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen.

the Wayfarer