Honor Your Father and Mother

The Fourth Commandment.

Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother [that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long upon the earth].

What does this mean?--Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not despise nor anger our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve, obey, and hold them in love and esteem.

(http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php)

 

In this fourth commandment we are told that we are to honor those who have authority over us so that it may be well with us and that we might live long upon the earth.  Think about the chaos in so many homes and our school systems because many young people; rather than honor their parents or teachers, are allowed (and sometimes encouraged by other people in authority) to be outright disrespectful; defiantly rejecting all authority. How much learning can be done in this kind of environment? How many children are being taught to disrespect and connive against our police officers who have sworn to protect us? It makes it very difficult to serve and protect or teach anyone when one is being cursed at or emotionally or even physically attacked.

 

God has given each of us people in our lives who are meant to teach and guide us; to care for us. Parents, police officers, teachers, doctors, employers are just a few examples of such people today. Sadly, not all of them have our best interests at heart. There are those who think that everything should be done for their glory to the detriment even of their children and those who might work for them.  Martin Luther reminds us, in the Large Catechism, that even though the Commandments do not speak directly to the duties of those in authority; scripture reminds us all that we are to love and care for one another. This applies to parents as well as others who might have the duties to teach or care for or protect us. If we teach our children that it is all right to disrespect others; they may also learn to disrespect us.

 

We should honor all in positions of authority and those in authority would be wise to guide those who they have authority over; to teach them the ways of the Lord. If honor, respect, and even integrity could make a come-back; then we would all live long and peacefully upon the earth.

 

Pr. J

 

P.S. I confess that while writing this blog this morning, I have been biased by knowing too many   parents who encourage their children to be blatantly disrespectful toward others and who also encourage their children to use alcohol and other drugs as well as to promiscuity.

Luke 11:14-28 The House Will Fall

Luke 11:14-28 NIV
"A house divided will fall.." (vs 17)

There are times, many times, that people in a family, a church, or a community will disagree with one another. But, that disagreement should not necessarily lead to division. Divisions detract us from our purpose; our mission. We are so busy worrying about how to get our way that we forget to proclaim the Kingdom of God. We forget to share the love of God in Christ Jesus with others.

Sometimes separation is inevitable as Jesus reminds us that if someone will not hear or receive the Word of God we should depart and find someone who will. (Luke 9:5) But, often it is just the devil that divides us by stirring up things like greed or envy or maybe self-righteousness.

So the next time you don't care for the color of the carpet that the committee picked or the janitor they hired, remember that a house divided will fall. I know it's probably not the intent of any within the local churches to have it fail; but, when we switch our focus from Jesus to how we're going to get our own way in the church over material things in the church that is exactly where we are heading.

Whoever is not with him is against him, and whoever does not gather with him scatters.

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 52 - In and Out of Exile and Captivity

We have come to the end of the Book of Jeremiah with Chapter 52. Chapter 52 is basically an encapsulated history of the Babylonian Captivity to ensure that we and all who read or hear Jeremiah understand that the Word of the LORD prophesied through Jeremiah was fulfilled. It is a remembering of their history.

It is good to remember the history of the children of Abraham, so that we do not repeat it. Sadly, I think we do continue to repeat it. We follow in the footsteps of Abraham's children, into the wilderness of sin. As we are  strengthened by the hardships, we return to the LORD and to the promised land. And... once, safe in the land, we take for granted the LORD, our God, and back to the wilderness, in exile, we go.

"When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath." (Deut 4:30-31 NIV)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 34 - Which Freedom Will You Choose?

A slightly different concept of freedom is found in chapter 34 of Jeremiah.

 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth." (Jer 34:17 NIV)

God had instructed His people to set their slaves free. At first, they agreed. But, then they changed their minds and forced them back into slavery. They broke the covenant that had been made with God. They would not set the people free. But, God will. He will free His people from the covenant. They can live on their own, making their own way. They will live without the blessings that He would give to them.

If we don't want to listen to God; if we don't want to do His will; then we are free to be free from the covenant that God made with us. We don't have to seek His face. But, what we will get instead is His back and that is not a good or pleasant thing. We can be free to serve other gods; to serve ourselves. But, it would behoove us to ask ourselves is that the direction we really want to go in?

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. Abraham Lincoln 

"There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought." Charles Kingsley

"While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions." Stephen Covey

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

God's Peace - Pr. J