Daily Devotional – 9/26/11 “Honor thy Mother & Father”

Ephesians 6:1 – 2 states, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)”  Deuteronomy 5:16 states, “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”

If God has commanded you to honor your father and mother, what makes you think you shouldn’t have to obey? Regardless of the type of parent they were or are, the commandment is still there.  You stand before your parents being disrespectful and then you have to wonder why your children don’t respect you.  You don’t honor what your parents say and then you have the nerve to go down on bended knee crying that God has forsaken you.  John 14:15 states, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Now, don’t get me wrong.  We all, sometimes, fall short of God’s word because we all sin.  (Ecclesiastes 7:20 states, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”) But if you continually disobey God’s commandments, doesn’t he have the right to punish you? Don’t you punish your children when they do wrong?  I’d rather have momma’s punishment than to feel the wrath of God on any day.  But you curse momma out because you’re having a bad day and wonder why blessings are not coming your way.  You stand before daddy talking to him like he is lower than the mud under your shoe and then you wonder why you can’t find a job.  Chile, God won’t condone you in your wrong! Keep your mouth and you’ll keep your blessings.

You might say that your dad is a deadbeat or your momma is never there, but that is what God has to take care of.  You can’t continue to hold resentment because daddy walked off.  He is living another life and you are hindering yours because of the malice in your heart.  You can’t continue to be mad at momma because she was strict on you growing up.  Didn’t it turn you into a responsible adult? Aren’t you more capable of handling your household because of the values and morals that momma’s strictness instilled?  You’re mad because momma and daddy won’t consign for your new car but you’re an adult with your own family and job.  Why should they be responsible for your debt? Then you run off saying, “They ain’t never done nothing for me!”  Didn’t they raise you, clothe & feed you, take care of you on your sick days, be at your school functions when they really couldn’t afford to miss work, or simply listen to your problems when you needed them?  Then you have to wonder why your application won’t be approved.

You’d better honor the mom and dad that you have because one day you will be standing over their casket and all the things that you wanted to say will be null & void.  Honor your mom and dad NOW while you have a chance because crying over their lifeless body won’t mean a thing to anybody.  Honor the mom and dad that God has entrusted you too.  Even in their bad days, they are blessings!  Somebody in foster care is longing for the love of a mother and father.  Somebody, whose parents died before they had a chance to know them, is dreaming of their mother’s touch.  Somebody is wishing they had momma to call on their bad days or daddy when their car won’t start.  Be thankful for the blessing of having momma and/or daddy because someone is praying for what you have.  Tomorrow may be too late! Cherish them today.