Week Three – Day 4
TODAY’S FAST – After school or work, fast from all media technology including video games, tv, computers, and internet to spend quality time with God and your family.
Devotional:
This is the fifth commandment: Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
A couple of things worth noting about this command: It’s the first commandment that gives us a promise. Often in the Bible, God lays out to us the consequences for our disobedience; but here God does the opposite. He says in effect, “Let me tell you how I’m going to reward your obedience—with long life and prosperity!”
Here’s something else: The fifth commandment is the only one you don’t have to keep all your life!
Once your parents die, it’s too late. The message for all of us is this: If your parents are still alive, the time to honor them is right now!
This is a command with no exceptions. There is no escape clause for those children raised by terrible parents. Nor is it just for young children; it’s for adult sons and daughters too. If our parents are still alive, God commands all children (of all ages) to honor their parents.
We are to honor our parents even when they act dishonorably. The ancient Hebrew word for “honor” means “weightiness.” It describes something heavy. To honor someone is to respect them as people who carry (or once carried) a great deal of weight in your life. Oddly, this commandment does not speak of loving our parents or even of being happy to be around them. The command is to honor and respect our parents.
If you have a rocky relationship with your parents, trust that God knows what you’ve been through. Trust that God is just and He will judge righteously. You, for your part, are called to honor them.
Prayer Focus:
Pray that children would value and cherish their relationship with their parents and that children will love and honor their parents all the days of their lives.
Key Verse:
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 NIV
