Honor Thy Father and Mother

Originally posted on 09 July 2011 by Rev Tommy Carpenter

"Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou may live long on the earth" (Ephesians 5:2,3).

Within a span of five weeks, we celebrate Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day here in America. Somehow, we have allowed these special days to be commercialized like other special days on our calendar. Fathers and mothers are foundational to the family structure.

According to Mark Alexander, "In 295 B.C., Mencius wrote, "The root of the kingdom is in the state. The root of the state is in the family. The root of the family is in the person of its head." When fathers do not take on their parental responsibilities, broken marriages and families are the result. These, in turn, lead to broken societies."
A good father begins with a man being a good husband! As the leader (head) of the family, the husband and father should provide spiritual leadership, emotional leadership, character leadership and life-skills leadership.
The Old Testament priest, Jehoiada had this testimony: "He did good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house (family)" (2 Chronicles 24:16).
Dr. Jim Lee, director of Living Free ministries, teaches that the Christian marriage paradigm is built on a foundation of five principles: "First, God is the creator of the marriage relationship; second, heterosexuality is God's pattern for marriage; third, monogamy is God's design for marriage; fourth, God's plan for marriage is for physical and spiritual unity; and fifth, marriage was designed to be permanent."
The times and changing culture have changed the way we look at things today, nevertheless, we must be reminded where the right and proper standard is, so that we can determine where we should be in our society. Our longevity depends on how we honor our father and mother!