Welcome to week three of a short series on The Ten Commandments. Last week we discussed not taking the Lord's name is vain and remembering the Sabbath. This week we will continue on with numbers five and six.
#5 Honor your father and your mother
In the 23rd chapter of Proverbs, it says to listen to your father because without him, you would not exist. When your mother is old, show her your appreciation. It also says to let your father and mother be proud of you; give your mother that happiness.
Colossians 3:20 "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord".
As a mom, I would love to quote every kids obey your parents scripture in the Bible. But, since I'm a cool mom, I won't do that to you. There is one scripture though that's pretty important. The one about treating others the way you want to be treated. This also applies to your folks.
When I was growing up, I was blessed with good parents. They were strict, and believe me, during my teenage years we fought like cats and dogs, but I knew they would always be there for me. Even now, I don't think I could make myself be disrespectful to them. Partially because that is how I was raised, and partially because I don't doubt to this day if I sassed them, I would get backhanded (my mom had a wicked backhand when I was a kid...back when parents were still able to backhand their own kids).
I grew up in a little town of 1000 people, I still live here, and it's where I raised my boys. I didn't grow up in an abusive or alcoholic home. I didn't grow up in a one parent home, or have divorced parents who constantly showed disrespect to each other in front of me. I can't begin to understand how growing up that way is. But I do know God tells us to honor our parents. It's not a suggestion from Him.
I want to share a little story with you. A Sunday School teacher was teaching her class about the Ten Commandments. After talking to them about honoring their mother and father, she asked if there was a Commandment teaching us how to treat our brothers and sisters. Without missing a beat, one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill". [giggle] This brings us to our 6th Commandment:
#6 Do Not Kill
God gave us life and we should treat our lives, and the lives of others, with care and respect.
What about killing other than life, what about killing a person on the inside? When we cut someone down, or keep nagging at them or showing disrespect, we're slowly killing that persons self esteem. No matter what a person lets be seen on the outside, we all know someones words can cut like a knife on the inside. We never know what is going on inside another person and one unkind word from you might be all it takes to push them over the edge.
Gossip falls under this Commandment.
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