Honor Thy Father and Mother

By Dave Daubenmire

The Ten Commandments are at the heart of the American culture. Although they do not receive the prominence they once held in America, they are still the backbone of our society.

America would be a much better place if we still taught them to our children today. We used to post them on the wall of the schoolhouse, courthouse, church house, and the refrigerator in our own house.

Today, they appear old fashioned and hackneyed. It is rare to find them posted in most of our churches and even rarer to find a Christian who can recite them from memory.

Go ahead…I will wait. Let me know if you were able to repeat them in proper order. I doubt I will hear from very many of you and chances will be near zero if you are under fifty unless you were homeschooled. The 10 Commandments have given way to tolerance, diversity, and the gospel of inclusion. Rule following is old fashioned.

But the Commandments had a purpose. They were given to us by our Heavenly Father as a means of protection…a safety net, if you will…as a form of love. God’s love is most displayed in The Commandments as a means of loving and protecting us from one another. Take a moment and review them and you will find that they are all written to train us to love and protect one another. Here they are.

It is interesting to note that they are written on 2 tablets. Four of The Commandments are written on the first stone and they deal with your relationship with your Creator. The second tablet lists 6 commandments because it has instructions on how to deal with your fellow man. That is why, when asked, Jesus said there were only two. The first tablet guides your relationship with God and the second tablet deals with your relationship with your fellow man.

America would be a much better pace if we simply began to make them required instruction for every child in America once again.

But it is the 5^th Commandment that I would like to focus on in this Christmas season.

What would Christmas be like if it were not for children?

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

Do we teach that in America today? Do we even believe in honor anymore? Webster’s defines honor “To revere; to respect; to treat with deference and submission and perform relative duties to.” Do the children of America HONOR their parents today? Are they even taught to?

Notice it does not say LOVE your parents. Sometimes that is a tough challenge. But the requirement of God is to HONOR them, and the reward of that obedience is “that thy days may be long.”

Michele and I are blessed parents. We have three wonderful children and 6 fabulous grandchildren who are the crowns of our lives. We live close to them. We see them daily. We pour ourselves into them every chance we get.

The Bible teaches us that grandchildren are the crown of an old man. But so many of our friends, all post retirement age, still do not have grandkids. I feel the ache in their hearts when they are around our ever-growing family and experience the magic of watching OUR kids raise kids.

I had the privilege of officiating at our only son’s wedding last August and during the ceremony I made it plain that part of their duty as a married couple was to produce grandchildren for Michele and me. Being a grandparent is a HIGH honor; one every parent deserves. But instead, the culture teaches them to build a career, accumulate THINGS, and enjoy life.

Sadly, their parents who sacrificed everything for them still have not received the crown for which they are deserving. The most rewarding experience of my life has been the HONOR of being called “GRAMPIE.”

The family is under assault in America like no time in history. The family was the first institution that God ordained, and He did so with the commandment to “be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.”We have failed as parents when we see that our children see childbearing as a hindrance to their happiness.

During this Holiday season our heart goes out to those of you who bear the heartache of being deprived the crown of grandbabies. What fulfillment one receives from watching the little ones experience the joy and spirit of Christmas!

For generations, the foundation of America has been the development of large, intact families. Pray that God restores unto America the love and appreciation of family.

Our holiday wish to many of you this season is that the honor of “Grandma and Grampa” may come your way in the year ahead. As Christmas rolls around next year we pray that your children place a new little arrow under your tree.

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”

May God reward you with the honor you are due in 2021. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full.

E-Mail Dave Daubenmire: ptsalt@gmail.com