Wow! Jesus thought of everything!

The old saying is, “there are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire someone to do it, or forbid your children to do it.”

Honor your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 19:19.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:1-4

Ephesians 6:1–4 gives instructions for children to obey their parents, and for parents to be careful in how they raise their children. Children who learn respect for proper authority will have a better chance at success in life. And, obedience to parents is the morally right way to behave. Parents, however, are to be careful not to antagonize their children. Instead of pushing them towards anger or frustration, Christian parents should give their children loving, God-centered teaching and discipline.

This is another time in the Bible when God instructs us to obey our parents. Notice that it is plural, saying parents, not just the father or the mother. Whew! What a job! We have to obey not just one parent, but also both of them.

Have you ever wondered why God gave children such an impossible task? It is because he knows that it is hard for children to do it without asking Jesus to help them. Jesus wants us to pray and talk to him all the time, and this is one of the ways he gets us to do that. And what about the parents? In all the organizations in the world, especially the military, they never give anyone two bosses. They only have one commander, one chain of command. It would be hard for a soldier to follow orders if he had two people telling him what to do.

But Jesus, in his infinite wisdom, put two parents in charge of the kids. He knew they would have to be talking to each other all the time to keep things straight. For example, have you ever asked Mom to let you do something, and she said no. So then you went and asked Dad, hoping he would say yes without talking it over with Mom first? Hmmm? Well, the answer is because Jesus sees parents as if they are one person, not two. When your parents got married, Jesus stopped seeing them as two people, and he sees them as one. He knows the only way that they can keep up with the kids is to pray to him for help!

Wow! Jesus thought of everything! He knew that children would have a hard time obeying their parents without asking Jesus to help them, and that parents would never be able to rear children without praying for help. So a long time ago when he gave Moses the Ten Commandments, he made this the fifth rule. And the wonderful thing is, he made a promise when he gave it.

It was very challenging for me as a child growing up but one thing that was established early in my house was learning to obey and honor both of my parents. You see my spirit as a child was never broken I had many trails and sufferings but I was never told I was useless or a waste of space. Because at a very young age I believed what my parents said about me, I believe a child who suffers bad treatment early will gradually withdraw into themselves, retiring behind an invisible wall and simply existing rather than living.

I remember my mother reading the bible to me at a young age. She would say to me over and over to respect me, honor your father (even thou they didn’t seem to get alone all the time), as well others; reminding always to show appreciation She said, there is a very good reason for this command in Proverbs; it teaches that those who listen to their parents gain wisdom:

“A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not respond to rebukes” Proverbs 13:1.

Now my father taught me in other ways (some negative some positive). His thing was hard work and reading. After my mothers untimely death my sister and I went to live with my grandmother. So there were times we did not see him, because of work. But when we did see him, he always had some sort of book in his hand. He was a voracious storyteller, the kind that made stories come alive like movies, and I became completely enraptured from a young age. On those nights when it was too humid to do much of anything outdoors, we’d all sit around my grandma Maggie’s kitchen table and have a hurried dinner as my father told us the stories of his life for that day. He especially loved Langston Hughes Now this was something, considering a man who did not graduate from high school until I was a junior in high school reading Langston Hughes. I must say even today my father was the wisest man I ever met (maybe not the best father) but he had a lot of wise thoughts that made me think even now. I thought to myself he’s reading poetry, “Wow”. He would warn me about things(especially social issues) in the world notably when he read the poem ‘Warning’ by Langston Hughes:

Negroes,

Sweet and docile,

Meek, humble and kind:

Beware the day

They change their mind!

Wind

In the cotton fields,

Gentle Breeze:

Beware the hour

It uproots trees!

He would pucker up his lips and laugh after reading that poem over and over and would say, “when that day happens and it will, “be respectable Ronnie.” Now I know what he meant!

Sometimes God’s design is for children to learn to honor and obey their parents as they grow up so that they can live wisely. As they learn respect at home, they will respect others appropriately when they leave the home. Even young Jesus, though he was the Son of God, obeyed His earthly parents and as a result grew in wisdom Luke 2:51-52. The Bible says that children who are not disciplined or who fail to obey their parents is much worse off in life see (Proverbs 22:15; 19:18 and 29:15).

As children they have a responsibility to obey their parents, parents have a responsibility to instruct their children in the ways of God. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” Ephesians 6:4. But even if one’s parents are not following the command directed toward them, children still have the command to obey and respect their parents.

Our ultimate responsibility is to love and obey God, above all else. He has commanded children to obey their parents. The only appropriate reason for disobedience of one’s parents would be if the parents were instructing a child to do something that clearly goes against one of God’s commands. In that case, the child must obey God instead (see Acts 5:29) so parents and kids what aha moments with Gods help will you share today!

God Bless You and This Ministry!