Honor

 

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

 

Today’s passage introduces us to the third named category within the commandments. So far, we’ve dealt with God and gods. The very next category is parents. That should give us some idea of how important fathers and mothers are. Not only are they mentioned in the Ten Commandments, but they are listed right after God. We are to have great respect for them and hold them in great esteem.

The commandment doesn’t stipulate that our fathers and mothers be worthy of honor. They may not do anything to set them apart from the worst of parents. Their behavior is not the issue. In fact, this commandment was given to people whose parents had been slaves (as they themselves had been.) It was also given to a generation who would die in the wilderness because of their disobedience. That’s certainly not the sort of parents who would be honored, and yet God says, “Honor your father and your mother.”

This is so important that God makes a promise about what will happen if we do so: we may live long in the land the Lord our God is giving us. God doesn’t offer us a carrot with regard to how we treat Him, but He does for how we treat our parents.

Not surprisingly, sociological studies show that those who participate in religious communities, and those who honor their parents – and by extension the family – are healthier overall than those who don’t. Society is healthier when parents and families are honored. When parents and the family are not honored, society falls apart.

I know some people have parents who are difficult – possibly even impossible to honor  (from our perspective.) My parents were pretty good, but I find it hard to honor my father, especially having lived with him while he deteriorated under the influence of dementia. What is at issue is not the question of whether or not a command is easy to follow, but whether or not we do follow, easy or not.