I used to
wonder why “Honor thy father and mother” is one of the Ten Commandments, just
as important as “Do not kill” and Do not steal” and the rest. Especially as there are some parents who give
no reason for their rules other than “Because I said so!”
But maybe
that’s exactly the point. Our parents were
older and so much wiser than we were as little children. They knew that following their rules could at
times mean the difference between life and death, yet they also knew there
would be times when they wouldn’t have time to explain the reasons for their
rules, or that the reasons would be too complicated for our developing brains
to comprehend. They weren’t perfect
people, but God gave most of us caring parents for our well-being, and He put them
in their position of authority for our benefit.
How much more
do God’s rules matter to our well-being, and we need to learn them to the point
where obedience becomes automatic and part of our character. We often won’t have time to ask “why?” or we
simply won’t be able to understand God’s infinite wisdom and reasoning if He
told us. There are many good reasons for
obeying God that benefit us personally, but ultimately it goes beyond personal
benefit and “what’s in it for me?” and has more to do with glorifying God for
who He is. God is the only one who can
truly and rightly say “Because I AM says so”.
I bring this
up because of a conversation with a man named Lucius, who seemed incredulous
that a loving God would dare to give him rules to follow and consequences for
breaking them. He didn’t have the
benefit of loving and consistent parents who taught him to follow their rules
because of their authority, and the auntie who raised him brought him to a very
legalistic church, so I wasn’t too surprised that he has rejected God’s
authority as he has.
To get to the
root of his rebellion against God’s authority, I asked Lucius what he thought
of the story of the temptation in the Garden of Eden. Did God have the right to give Adam just one
rule, not to eat from just one tree?
Lucius saw it as God setting Adam up for failure, and couldn’t
understand why a loving God would do such a thing. I asked if he would give mankind rules if he
were God. He would and they were
surprisingly strict. Would he have consequences
to those rules? Yes, and he agreed that
rules don’t really make much sense or carry much weight unless there are some
consequences for breaking them.
Maybe “honor
thy father and mother” (or at least whatever benevolent authority God has put
in our lives) is one of the most important commandments of all, for through it
we learn how to follow the rest. Maybe
there’s a reason that it’s the only commandment with a promise: “so that it may
go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Eph. 6:1-3)
By learning to honor our parents authority, we
learn to respect the authority of other adults, teachers, police, employers,
government, and ultimately, God. We do
our homework, stay in school, stay out of jail, we keep our jobs, we pay our
taxes, and we become honorable adults that can help the next generation learn
to obey authority.
Of course there
is something to be said for using common sense to determine which authority
figures are not acting in our best interest, but the general principal
remains. Learning to honor and obey God
begins with learning to honor our parents, and we need to have patience and
understanding with those who weren’t blessed with loving parents to teach them
these valuable lessons.
Thanks,
Lucius, for allowing me to record our conversation! It can be see HERE at https://youtu.be/uF4x2odAMiM
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