Honour
thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD
thy God giveth thee.
Exodus
20:12
As you
journey through this life; know that the choices you make carry not only an
impact upon your very being but also the people who joined together in your
blessed creation… Your focus in life should be pleasing God and today we are
reminded of a commandment given by God to Moses which deals directly with how
we are to not only treat but also represent our parents… Understand today that there
is always someone who is watching you, taking notice of every move that you
make and every action you engage in; the message today is that you must make
choices that will not only better you, but make choices that will place you and
the family which you are a pat of in a good light… In bringing honor to our
parents I am reminded of the 3rd chapter in the gospel of Matthew which
speaks of Jesus being baptized, it is in that chapter that you will find these
words recorded; “As soon as Jesus
was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the
Spirit of God descending like
a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from
heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love;
with him I am well pleased.” God says that He is pleased in
His son; this is one of the best honors which we can obtain is to please the
Lord and we know that what pleased God was not only that Jesus was His son, but
more importantly that He was accepting the divine will and plan that His father
had for His life… Know today that this is how you bring honor to your father
and mother, you must adhere to the guidelines and plans that they have put in
placing knowing that a man or woman of God will not steer you wrong… There are
so many who walk this earth for a short period of time not because it was there
time to go, but because they did not appreciate the love and kindness that came
in the discipline and structure which was provided by their parents… This is
why today’s focus verse says that we are to honor our father and mother so that thy days may be long upon the land the
Lord they God giveth thee… If you want to have live and have it more abundantly;
you must walk in the grace of Jesus Christ and obey the parents which our
heavenly father has blessed us with… Moses reminds us that we must be about bringing honor to our
father and mother… It is very critical that we take steps that are calculated
and will not be regretted and shameful at the conclusion or sunset of our days
upon this earth… Whether we realize it or not, every move that we make in life
impacts our lives as well as the lives of everyone that we know or are
connected too… When I read this verse, my mind goes back to my childhood and
how as a child growing up I could remember how often neighbors would say “that’s
Annie’s little boy or that’s Quintin’s son and let me tell you he is a
handful…”
It was bad enough that I did some
“devilish” things; however, the biggest dishonor was how I negatively impacted
the way my parents were viewed in the neighborhood… Every mistake a child makes is often
times turned to how the parents didn’t raise them right or how they spoiled
that child too much… It wasn't until my junior year in high school that I
realized the bad impression that I gave others about my parents! People assumed
that my parents were simple and didn’t discipline me because of the things that
I did; it was by the actions that I took that people begin to draw conclusions
about how I was raised… These same principles apply to us today; this
commandment given by God is the first commandment with a promise! It states
that we should honor our father and mother so that our days may be prolonged…
What does it mean to honor your father and mother? This is not done by words; it is not conveyed by thoughts, but rather actions…
We are to bring honor to God as our father through the decisions that we make
on this earth! Just as my parents parental skills were called into question
because of my bad behavior, there are a lot of people that question the faith
you claim due to the lifestyle that you live… Understanding that God is our heavenly father lets us
know that we have a duty to live a life on this earth that will bring honor to
Him and His word… When we attend church, but continuously walk according to
this world and live by the standards of this world we allow people to question
God and His sovereignty just like when we make mistakes growing up and bring
dishonor to the name of our parents… God promises that your days may be
prolonged because he knows that if you follow His commands and obey His will
you will prosper in this land and in your life! Your parents always instructed
you and disciplined you because they wanted to see you reach high levels and go
beyond expectation; when we disobey we are lowering our success level and in
essences cutting our lives short (when we do this the promise is not fulfilled
and our days are not prolonged)… We all can attest that there are some decision
that we made that didn’t bring honor to our parents and if we really look at
them closely, a lot of the decisions that we made could have brought our lives
to an end! Just like your parents on this earth, no matter how many mistakes
you have made, God hasn’t given up on you and still loves and cares for you…
Today let us focus on bringing honor to the household of faith by living a life
built on faith! Your days will be long, your children will be blessed and God
will be pleased when you follow His commandments and trust His word! As my
father taught me, “Remember who you are and who’s you are!”
BE BLESSED!!!
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