Honor for Your Parents for the Promise

As I study God’s Word, it seems as though I am coming back to the same passages again and again. God has new things for me to learn as I do. Now I know that over a lifetime, there are many days and the odds of coming back to the same passages are really good, it is just that I have been doing a dive into God’s Word over the past number of years and I have really noticed the guidance through His Word. This morning I am led back to Ephesians as I study the word “honor”.

“‘²Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise),’³that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’” – Ephesians 6:2-3 (ESV)

Familiar passage indeed. Yet, I still learned something this morning. The parenthetical statement above, “this is the first commandment with a promise”. I had not thought of it from that perspective before. God not only gave us a commandment, but told us the outcome of keeping it. It will “go well”. God has told us that doing that which we are commanded to do will result in good things to come.

I know, well bring on the good things. It is simple, yet difficult at the same time. Saying that I honor my parents in public and even in private is one thing, but really putting it into practice is another thing all together. Honoring them is an action and not just words. I have to remember to show them that I honor them and not just tell them that I love them.

Recently, my family traveled and my mother went along with us. My mother is into her 70s and where she is relatively healthy, she is not able to keep up with us young kids (we are in our 50s, LOL) like she used to. At one point my wife and our boys went on a hike to see a site and mom and I were tagging along. We got about half way to the destination and I realized that my mother was likely not to make it. Where seeing the site would have been nice, I elected to turn back with my mother to wait on everyone to return. Mom was more important to me than seeing something that was not going anywhere. I honored her by being there with and for her.

Now, honoring our parents is not to be done for some reward. I did not think about the reward when I stayed with mom. I did not want something out of it. But thinking back to the time spent with her, I see that I may have received the reward. Things for me did “go well” as I was able to have some good private conversation with mom and connect with her away from the formal setting of most conversations. It was all, in the moment and was very real and lovely.

Our role with our parents is to honor them through our action. We are to demonstrate to them that they are indeed important and when it comes down to it, they were the first to love us and for that, they deserve our honor.

What is your approach to your parents? Are you seeing them as just another person in your life? What if you were to honor them for the position they hold or held in your life?

Pay What is Owed

As I read and think, I cannot help but reflect on the state of our world today and the total lack of payment to what is owed. This morning I am studying the word “honor”. I was led to the passage in Romans directing me to “submission to the authorities”.

“⁷Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” – Romans 13:7 (ESV)

Above are Paul’s words as to paying what is owed. All of those items are sorely missing in society today. How many are not paying their taxes? How many are not paying respect? How many are not paying honor?

When I look at the words from Paul, I have to remember that paying what is owed does not mean that I am agreeing with it. It means that I am fulfilling an obligation. I have incurred the taxes and therefor must pay them. Those in positions of authority have earned the position and should be respected. Those who have given of themselves must be honored for their sacrifices. I may not like to pay taxes, and I may not like the person in authority, and I may not agree with the area where the sacrifice was given. But, all of those things are things that are to be payed out of the it is right to do so.

My youngest son Aarron volunteered to serve in the Navy. He has given of himself for something greater than himself. I could not be more proud of his decision to do so. Am I afraid for him, yes. Would I do the same, I am not sure. The one thing I can say is that I will honor him for the sacrifice that he is making that others may or would not make. I do not look down on others, as they are following their path, and I may be with them as well. But honor is given to Aarron for he has earned it, even if others do not agree with his decision.

Our authorities in the world are in those positions as God has allowed it. It does not mean that they are the “best” for the role, but they are there and deserve the respect of the position. We do not have to “like” the person, but the position is instituted by God and is deserving of respect as a result. Paul points out that authority is from God, and deserving of respect.

“¹Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” – Romans 13:1 (ESV)

As for the paying of taxes as they are owed. Even if we do not agree with them, we are to pay them. Paul is simply restating that which Jesus Himself stated, that we are to respect the authority and pay that which is owed.

“¹⁴And they came and said to him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?’ ¹⁵But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, ‘Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.’ ¹⁶And they brought one. And he said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said to him, ‘Caesar’s.’ ¹⁷Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they marveled at him.” – Mark 12:14-17 (ESV)

We are obligated to pay that which is owed. There is nothing in what Jesus says or Paul reiterates that indicates we are to pay more, and there it is not referenced as to what is fair or right, it is in reference to simply what is owed.

I am obligated to pay what is owed. I may not like it, but I am obligated to pay. That pay is not just in the form of monetary compensation, but in the currency of the situation, money, respect, honor, etc.

I am reminded this morning to remove the emotion from transaction and do as the LORD has directed and Paul has restated. I am obligated to pay that which is owed.

What are your thoughts as relate to paying what is owed? Are you fighting and resisting? Think about it, what if you listened to the LORD in the area of your obligations to pay that which I owed?

Leave Your Mother

“³And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?’ ⁴He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”?’” – Matthew 19:3-5 (ESV)

Marriage is for a lifetime, and it is to be fully between husband and wife. That should go without stating, however how many out there work to hold on to their mother and their wife as being the same. Jesus is clear here that one is to leave mother and devote themselves fully to their wife. It is now the husband and the wife on their own, carving out life together as one.

I would be remiss in ignoring that one would like his wife to be similar to his mother. I know that Lori and my mother are similar in their love of me. But, that is really where it ends. I do not expect Lori to care for and guide and nurture me as I did my mother when I was a child. I have moved to Lori and all of her.

I am not saying that we should cut our mothers off, that we should ignore them for the rest of our lives. What I am saying is that mother have done their jobs and have handed us over to our wives. My mother is still important, yet now, my wife, Lori has taken her place in the priority list of my life.

Where is your mother in your priority list? Do you still have her at the top of your list just below God? What if you leave your mother and approached your wife as the single most important one just below the LORD?

Stick to the Word of God

It is very easy to do things because we have always done it. Here in my house, Lori will cut up cucumbers for us to have, either in a salad or as a side all its own. She seems to take time to peel stripes on them prior to cutting them up. This does nothing for them, yet she does it because that is what she witnessed in her house growing up. It was thought to be of necessity when in fact, it was just a tradition.

This morning I was reminded that we are tasked with sticking to God’s Word and not tradition. Jesus said the following to the Pharisees and scribes as they questioned the actions of the disciples.

“⁵But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”a ⁶he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. ⁷You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

^‘8This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

⁹in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

— Matthew 15:5-9 (ESV)

The Pharisees and scribes had good intentions it seems, as they were following he law, but that is the thing, it was the law as written, not the Law of God. God’s Law stated the following:

“⁴For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’” – Matthew 15:4 (ESV)

God gave His Word to say to “Honor your father and your mother”. Not to speak of your father and mother as you command people to do as you say. It is the Word of God that should be followed and not the law.

I know, there is the thing that if not following the law, one might be held to account and be considered as breaking the law. The consequences of that can be severe, and I for one, would not want to be punished for breaking the law. But, the consequences of not following the Word are much more severe. Remember that this world is temporary and our final home is in heaven and to get there we are held to honoring the Word of God, not the law of man. The punishment for not following the Word of God is documented well in God’s Word, death.

Again, it is easy to fall into tradition and follow the law of man. Yet, that is the way to miss the greatness that comes from the LORD. When we look to tradition, we miss the point of it all as we are simply looking to an end. By sticking to the Word of God, we are opened to the possibilities that He has for each of us.

What traditions are you holding on to? Are you missing the greatness of the LORD for stability in this world? What if you held to the Word of God and allowed Him to guide you?

Jesus’ Mother

I was caught a bit off guard this morning as I was studying. You see, I have been reading and studying the words “father” and “mother” and have been found, and worked to fully understand, that the LORD is the Father and Mother that I should be leaning on as I progress in my relationship with Him. And then I read the passage below and I am caught taking stock in it all.

“⁴⁶While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. ⁴⁸But he replied to the man who told him, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ ⁴⁹And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’” – Matthew 12:46-50 (ESV)

I know that Jesus had a mother and brothers in this world. Here we find that they have come to visit with and speak with Him. Jesus, in true Jesus fashion, finds this opportunity to teach. He acknowledges them and then proceeds to add them to the group. Jesus knows that Mary and his brothers are important, yet they are no more important in the kingdom of heaven than any other. In fact, they, the group, fall into the same importance of being heirs with Him to the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus sees His earthly mother as an important person in His life and upbringing. He loves her dearly and she does Him as well. But, both of them know that she is just an earthly figure in the plan of God. Mary was the chosen one to bring Jesus into this world and then she turned Him over to God and took the place of a follower of Christ as she knew the greatness that He was.

My mother is my sister in Christ and where she cared for me when I did not know how to care for myself, she eventually turned me over to Christ and stands beside me as my sister. I love her dearly and she me, but we are now the brother and sister of Christ and we stand together serving Him.

I opened this post indicating that I was caught off guard this morning. This was quite the good thing as it drove me into more thought and study. What I know in this world is just that, in this world. The kingdom is heaven is my home and I have a whole slew of new relatives there. I am now the brother of Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, and Shirley, my earthly mother. Each of them as well as I have taken our place as the sisters and mothers and brothers of Christ.

What is your relationship with Christ? Are you now the brother, sister, or mother of Jesus? What if you were to live as adopted brother, sister, or mother of Jesus in the kingdom of heaven?

Love God More Than Mother

“³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” – Matthew 10:37 (ESV)

I was led to the above verse before as I was studying the word “father” that. My learning then was that I have to remember to love my heavenly family more and know that the LORD is more important to me than my earthly family. Here I am again as I study the word “mother” and the learning is similar.

As I have written before in my post, “Mothers are from God”, they are here to comfort, guide, and nurse us in our time of need. And that is it, they are here, physically, and in our time of need. Where I love my mother and would not trade her for anyone, I need the LORD more now than I need her. And that is the way it is supposed to be.

Lori is the mother to my boys Bryson and Aarron. Both of them are grown men now and they live on their own. Lori is still their mother, yet she is not a part of their day to day as she was when they were much younger. It is expected in our house that the two of them seek the LORD for their comfort, guidance, and nursing now. Don’t get me wrong, the boys are still their mother’s babies and she loves them so much that there is nothing she would not do for them. But, they are now to lean on the LORD for their day to day and there is no ill feelings toward them as they do.

Jesus wants my love. He wants me to love Him more than all. He wants me to love Him more than mom. It is my duty to love God more than all. And notice His words in the verse, loving Him is the only thing that makes us worthy. We don’t have to do anything other than that. We love Him more than all else and we have made it.

If all I have to do is love Jesus more than all and I have then made it, what a simple thing that must be. Well, it is that simple, but that love must be a devotional love and not just the words as we see in the world today. It is easy to say the words “I love you”, it is something else to act on that love. I have to remember to act on my love for the LORD more than any other to demonstrate my worthiness to Him.

Who do you love most? Are you placing your love on or with someone here in this world? What if you were to love the LORD more than all, even your mother and demonstrate that love through your actions?

Mothers are from God

“¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” – Matthew 1:18 (ESV)

Jesus’ mother Mary was made a mother, not from some act of this world, but from God. It was not something that was manifest from anything that Joseph did, or the government did, or even the church did. God made it happen.

As I was reading and studying this morning, I was reminded that all mothers are so thanks to the LORD. Regardless of the circumstances, all children are gifts of God and are a product of His plan.

I know, what about those pregnancies that are the product of some heinous act? Well, where they are heinous and may seem to come from evil, I have to remember that all mothers are from God’s great plan. I am not defending any of these heinous acts. I am simply pointing out that all things are done in God’s plan. We may not understand His plan and may be, and have a right to be, angry with God in the moment. But I also have to remember that His plan is greater than anything that I can even conceive. In fact, just the pregnancy of Mary with Jesus was quite the controversy in the day. She was not married to Joseph, only engaged to be married.

Mothers are from God. They are gifts to the world as comforters, guides, and nursemaids. I have to remember this everyday and know that regardless of the circumstances, God makes mothers with purpose. I may not understand the purpose and as Joseph did in considering everything, we should as well. All will be revealed in God’s time, but the one thing we should not question is whether it is in God’s plan, because it always is.

What are your thoughts on mothers? Are you looking at them as just a birther of people? What if you considered that all mothers are from God and that everything is in His plan?

The LORD Comforts as Mothers Do

I remember as the boys were growing up and running around with reckless abandon. They would go 900 mph (seemed like it at least). All was well until that inevitable fall and scraping of the knee and palms of the hand. Out came the waterworks (at least when we were watching), and they would come over to the parents. And who more importantly would they come to, the momma. And what would she do, hug them and kiss it and suddenly it was all better.

“¹³As one whom his mother comforts,

so I will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

— Isaiah 66:13 (ESV)

My knee scrapes may not be much on the physical side any more, but I still need comfort, the hugs and the kiss to make it all better. The LORD is here for that now. I can go hard for the LORD and know that when I fall, He is there to comfort me and hug me and kiss the wound to soothe.

Who are you leaning on to make it better when you fall? Are you out there trying to do it all on your own? What if you were to come to the LORD for comfort, hugs, and kisses, as He is always there?

Wisdom Through Reproof

It is good to be corrected when we are doing or have done wrong. It is in the correction that we learn.

“¹⁵The rod and reproof give wisdom,

but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”

— Proverbs 29:15 (ESV)

It would be great if we were to be able to learn all that we need to know without any instruction or correction. The real world does not work that way. We will make mistakes and should embrace them so that we might learn. Notice the verse above, a child that is left on their own without teachings and learning from their parents is a child that is not going to be on the right path. It is important that we are out there learning through doing and making mistakes.

Now I know, not all of us have those parents that teach us the ways to move forward, and in some of those cases, there may be parents that are tearing us down for not knowing. In those cases, I am sure that there was or is someone in our lives that will take on the role of the parent to teach once things do not go as planned.

I am pretty sure that those who have made mistakes, were corrected and moved forward are those who have done pretty well in the world (and I am not speaking of monetarily). I just had a conversation with my mother about my youngest son and his decisions in life. He chose to join the Navy after trying two years of university. He learned to give things a try and learn from them. He failed, although he did not give up. He continued to look forward and learn. It was fully his decision and as we speak to him we can hear that he feels as though he has made the right choice. He learned from his failure and carried it forward to the now and into his future. My mother is proud of the learning that he gained and of the learning that I gained to lead him to continue trying and learning.

God has given each of us those in our lives who point us in the direction we should go and correct us when we get off track. The LORD gives us the ultimate direction, yet it is those parental figures in our lives who hold us to account to move that direction. It is the reproof or correction from those parental figures that gives us the defined direction.

What direction are you going? Are you just plowing ahead and continuing to move with reckless abandon? What if you took a moment to listen to the parental figures around you and learned from the mistakes you make to press forward in the direction that God has for you?

Don’t Despise Your Mother

This morning, as with all mornings, I prayed for God to give me wisdom that I might read and be able to apply His Word. As I continue to study the word “mother” I was brought to another passage in Proverbs that does not seem that much different from the last, only this one focuses on me a little more.

“²⁰A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish man despises his mother.”

— Proverbs 15:20 (ESV)

I know, the last passage I studied was about the foolish son being a sorrow to his mother, so yes, it did involve me. But, here I see that it is my thoughts and feelings that are the focus. I have a mother that I love and she loves me. It is difficult for me to feel any other way, or at least think of feeling any other way.

There are those out there that may not have the same relationship with their mothers and I do not expect that everyone would. I know those who have a very close relationship with their mothers whereas mine is not one where we talk every week. My oldest son in fact is one that speaks to Lori at least once if not multiple times each week, and that is great for them. The thing is that the relationship is there as is the love.

We do not have to have relationships like everyone else with our mothers. But, we do have to be wise enough to love them. It is the action of love that I am talking about, not the emotion of love. We show them that we love them as opposed to telling them. Words are that, just words. Remember the saying of old, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. Well, words won’t hurt us, and they may not make us feel better, either. And sticks and stones, they may break bones, but they will also demonstrate healing.

Show mothers that we love them, if not for their sake, but for our own. Do not despise mothers, love them through our actions so that they can “see” them and will attribute those actions to the love we have for them.

What love do you have for your mother? Are you working through words and hoping that will do the trick? What if you showed love through action to demonstrate your love for them to see?