God’s Fifth Commandment was speaking to the cradle of Israelite society—the Home!Israel were not permitted to tolerate contemptuous behaviour in children. Imagine being there on a day when this took place:“If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son…then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city…and say…‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear” (Deut.21:18-21).Consequently, under this Old Testament Law it was literally true that obeying your parents meant “that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you” (Ex.20:12b).But the Bible does give us enough examples of rebellious sons to conclude that then, as now, most parents would rather tolerate evil in their children, than confront it. One thing is certain, the breakdown of society begins in the home. When mum and dad allow evil to persist, it spreads through society like a cancer.Paul’s command: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord” is not an invitation to scrutinize every request made according to their definition of that which they deem to be “In the Lord,” but rather to honour and obey them as any Christian should.When Christians bestow the same kind of loving-kindness upon their parents that Jesus continues to bestow upon them, then the Fifth Commandment is fulfilled among us. John StaigerIf you have been blessed by this message, please feel free to: Like, Comment or Share it with your friends. (328)
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