Love YOUR PARENTS
I have been reading about Israel’s Kings lately - 1 Kings and 2 Kings. Some followed God and let him be the boss, but most were evil in the eyes of the Lord, worshipping other gods and doing whatever they wanted.
I got to thinking - why would anyone want to follow another god when you have the true God to follow, who can part the sea, feed you, save you from snakes, cause plagues to come and defeat your enemies.
Then I realised why. Many people don’t like to be bossed around, and God was telling the kings what to do.
Are you like that too? Do you want to do whatever you want? Some people don’t mind being bossed around as much as others but most people don’t want others restricting their actions, their decisions. Is that you? Do you like being told what to do?
We are talking a bit about bosses lately, because it is part of life. There are always going to be people and rules that we have to submit to, whether we like it or not.
If you are at school, you need to submit to the rules of the school and the teachers, if you play sport, you need to obey those rules.
In society we have rules too, like don’t walk on the road, don’t steal, don’t drive the car too fast. But really, we don’t have too many rules. We are still able to choose many things for ourselves.
When you are a child, you also have your parent’s rules.
What do you think?
Some times I am baffled by the things I ask my children to do. Has your parents ever asked you:
“Don’t eat the dog food.”
“Stop licking the wall.”
“Is this your poo in the toilet?”
Can you think of any other crazy things your parents may have said to you? Maybe you could think of more during the week as they happen!
The previous 2 episodes were all about loving God and the next ones are going to be about loving others:
Bible Passage: Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, what is the most important commandment in the Law?”
Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.This is the first and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.”All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets are based on these two commandments.”
The first 4 commandments are about loving God, and we covered those in the previous 2 episodes. The following 6 are about loving others, and the first of those 6 might not be exactly what you are wanting to hear right now, but it is always for our own benefit. This is what it is:
Bible Passage: Exodus 20:12
God said to the people of Israel:
“Respect your father and your mother, and you will live a long time in the land I am giving you.”
The chances are that if your parents have put this podcast on for you to listen to, then you have wonderful, loving parents who love God and want you to as well. It might be a lot easier to love parents when they are loving to you. But you might be listening to this with your grandparent, or on your own, or with someone else, and your parents might not be very kind or loving. Either way, God still wants us to respect them.
What does this mean? It means showing them regard or consideration. It means treating someone honourably, although this is a bit of an old fashioned, unused word now (some bible translations actually say “honour your parents.” Teachers often use the word respect when talking about how to behave at school - respect your property and other people.
Respect is another way of loving others, but without emotion and more with an attitude.
We are to respect our parents and love them, no matter what their behaviour and treatment of others is like. We love and respect and obey them because they are our parents.
Most parents absolutely love their kids and want the best for them, so make up rules that are in their children’s best interest. (These rules might be a lot easier to obey and respect than the ones that are not as loving!)
Bible Passage: Ephesians 6:1-3
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
Bible Passage: Psalm 1:8
“Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching.”
Bible Passage: Proverbs 23:22
“Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”
Story Time!
When I was 10 years old I regularly stole money from mum and dad to buy snacks at the school canteen.
It is important to obey and respect and honour our parents. But if you have parents who are asking you to not believe in God, what would you do? What if they asked you to do something God didn’t want, like steal or lie or cheat? We need to always be thinking about what the most important thing is. 1 Loving God. 2. Loving others.
Question Time!
What is the hardest thing your parents have asked you to do and why?
How can you love and honour your parents more?
Why do you think God has included this command as one of his top 10?
