As young children, we are to obey our parents. We show them due respect by submitting to their will, and as the bible clearly states, in the Lord. Our parents will guide us in the path that we should go. Their desire is that we will be trained in the way of the Lord, and walk in the straight and narrow path. Our Christian parents will lead us so that we “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). God, in His wisdom, put honouring our parents as an important command.
Exodus 20:12 reads: “Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.“
We are called to honour our father and mother. One of the meanings of “honour” is “to show great respect for someone or something, especially in public”. Do we hold our parents in the highest regard? For some of us, our parents are elderly. They may not be in the best of health, or they may not be able to keep up with technological advances. Do we get irritated with them? Do we despise them and are ashamed to be seen with them? Do we rule out the possibility of, say, helping them grow as technology changes?
As parents grow old, one by one their senses will deteriorate, and they will have problems in locomotion. When their eyesight fails, do we take advantage of them, as Jacob did when he served soup to his father, Isaac? Or, do we accommodate them with patience? Will we then stress them and demand, albeit unintentionally, that they should quicken their pace? Do we make time out to accommodate their slower pace?
The younger generation may despise the older generation for their speed. Believe me, the elderly are more anxious that they do not slow down the former or get in the way of them. Some will even ensure that they do not hold them up in group gatherings by starting out ahead of time just so they can keep up with the younger crowd.
We can also honour them by sitting with them and talking with them. They will love to chat with us, to impart their experience and wisdom that comes with age. In turn, they will also like to hear how we are getting on with our lives. Above all, let us show our love and care for them. They have spent the best of their years in life to bring us up. Let us also reciprocate and honour them in their twilight years. Let us follow what God commands us to do, that we may in turn enjoy long lives on this earth.
Blessed Parents’ Day!