Friday, January 11, 2008

Honour God...Honour Your Parents

Exodus 20:12 "Hounour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."

Deuteronomy 5:16 "Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."

Matthew 15:4 "For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death."

Matthew 19:19 "Honour thy father and thy mother:..."

Mark 7:10 "For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:"

Ephesians 6:2 "Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)"

I've thought a lot about this thing of children honouring their parents. I'm not talking about obeying your parents. You are to do that too....but some kids are obeying their parents and not honouring them. Obedience is outward. Honouring is inward and outward.

A close friend of mine recently had one of their children to leave home prematurely. No doubt it broke those parents' hearts. Children today don't like rules. They don't like boundaries. They think they should be able to do the same things and have the same freedoms as other children they know. When they see that they get to the point when they make it happen for themselves.

When parents are training their children up according to God's Word...they need to understand that it is for their best. Unfortunately they don't always appreciate it and they rebel. God's judgment will fall on those who rebel. They want to do things and live their life their way...not God's way.

They don't know how badly it hurts those parents and a lot of times they don't care. If they would only realize that God will bless them for honouring their parents. Our children are to live at home until they get married. God tells us in His Word that they should leave their father and mother and cleave unto their mate.

Genesis 2:24 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."

Matthew 19:5 "And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?"

Mark 10:7 "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife."

Ephesians 5:31 "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh."

Seems to me that God feels quite strongly about children honouring their parents and staying at home until the day of marriage. He speaks of it enough times.

I had a discussion with Ronnie the other night about this. There was a time a few years ago that he wanted to move out and live on his own because he didn't want rules to live by. We talked to him and warned him of the consequences of stepping out of God's will and we prayed for him. He chose to stay and God blessed him. I told him that God blessed him with a wonderful soon-to-be wife. God blessed him with a house to move to and He blessed him with a pure testimony. None of these things would have come about like they did if he had stepped out of God's will and left from being under his parents authority. God honoured his obedience.

The friend of mine whose child left home prematurely will have to pray and watch him suffer some consequences. If you are a young person wanting and struggling to leave home prematurely...I'd like to encourage you to think twice and even three times before doing it. It will not only hurt your parents to do so...but it will hurt you too. Stay home and honour God by honouring your parents. He will bless you for it!!

By the way....we are to honour our parents even after we are married and out of the home. But that is a whole other post.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mrs Julie good post. Praise the Lord Ronnie heeded the Word of God and now like you said he will stand before his wife pure. What a blessing. You are right about one thng the honouring of our parents never go away. I have know many obey there parents until they got out of the house and then they dishonor them. I hope you do post that post also.

Bro Tim

Sis. Julie said...

bro. tim...I'm very thankful that Ronnie did the right thing. I will pray about doing that post soon.

Kristi said...

WOw! Great post. Well, actually, the Proper Behavior in a Fiery Trial and also this one were really good!

But for this one, I think a common misunderstanding is one you pointed out when you said that honoring and obeying are two different things. I'm glad you mentioned that because a lot of people look at the surface of honor, which is obedience, because that is what is seen. But God sees if you are honoring from what your heart shows Him.

Thanks!

~Kristi

Sis. Julie said...

sis. kristi...Amen!! Thank you!

Nicholas Z. Cardot said...

That is a great testimony about Ronnie. God bless you guys.

Sis. Julie said...

bro. nicholas...thank you so much!! It is an amazing testimony. I'm thankful that there is one to share.

PamelaK said...

Sis Julie -
This is such a wonderful post with so much to ponder, with the obedience and honouring, and also with our having had preaching in the past that girls should stay home but boys should get out on their own. But we have been re-examining that lately since we will be facing that new issue a ways down the road here. Thank you for the encouraging post and will be looking forward to the follow-up.

Mimi said...

this was a very good post.. I hope several young people read and take heed....You can be very proud as well as happy that Ronnie heeded your advise and remained at home and pure until he could begin the life that God prepared for him with Jessica!!
Blessings,
Mimi

Sis. Julie said...

sis. pamela k...Thank you! I'm praying about the follow-up post and will do it as the Lord leads.

Sis. Julie said...

sis. mimi...I am VERY proud of him!!!

Lyndy said...

Great post as usual Sis Julie. I was blessed with a praying Mamma and a praying Grandmother. I am sure at times when I was a teenager I caused some stress but I can honestly say that I have never had to hear my Mother say she was disappointed in me and now I am pleased to be able to honor her by taking care of her in my home as she ages...I simply would not have it any other way.

As with anyone, I have regrets in my life but I have absolutely no regrets for the love and honor I showed my Mother and Grandmother and I am so blessed to have had these two wonderful role models in my life.

I think a lot of kids also go astray because they are afraid to talk to their parents about things going on around them and things they question. Again, I was blessed to have an open door to discuss anything with my Mother and never had to fear having open and honest discussions with her, even when she didn’t agree I could talk things out with her and know that she would pray with me over the situation.

I had lots of friends growing up that were simply afraid of their parents and would not dare go to them and talk to them. I thank God that I had a listening and praying Mother.

Hope you have had a wonderful week Julie and enjoy the rest of your weekend as well.

Love you sis,

Lyndy

T said...

Great post Julie! This works on my heart in two ways. First it makes me reflect on the mistakes I made when I was young and secondly it makes me think of my girls. I pray that they will stay on the path that God wills for them and not stray. Ronnie and Jessica are wonderful examples too everyone.

Unknown said...

Great and needed post. Lyndy's comments were awesome as well. Our kids need to feel our unconditional love. We need to be balanced.

Sis. Julie said...

sis. pam...this post was a very needful one for my heart this week as we faced a situation this week with someone that God used to show me and remind me of some things that I was able to share with that person.

Love yOU!!

Anonymous said...

Great post!!! What a blessing to read!!

Melissa said...

I have really learned the importance of honoring my parents, even if I don't agree with what they say. Now that I have left the house, I still love them very much but obviously I am not in submission to them any longer. That is not to say that I do not respect them or value their opinions.

By the way, I was just curious -- what do think is a premature age to leave your parents' house? Or maybe I should say what is an appropriate age to leave the house?

Sis. Julie said...

sis. melissa...There is no specific age for leaving the home. The Bible simply says that one should leave their father and mother and cleave unto their mate. That means one should not leave the home of their parents until they get married. I believe God has it set up this way for many different reasons. I will put a post together on this subject once our son gets married. Things are kind of busy right now so I may not have time to put it together right now. But I will do that after the wedding. So check back for that in the near future.

Melissa said...

sorry you had to take the time to answer that.....I was just rereading this post and found that you answered my very question and I must have missed it or something. Thanks!

Sis. Julie said...

melissa...its okay.

Theresa's Notes said...

This was great! I'm going to have my older boys read this. Thanks.

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