[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] The Fifth Commandment[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]WE ARE LIVING in dark days on this question too. It really seems as if the days the apostle Paul wrote about are upon us: "In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,.. despisers of those that are good" (2 Ti 3:1-3). If Paul were alive today, could he have described the present state of affairs more truly? There are perhaps more men in this country that are breaking the hearts of their fathers and mothers and trampling on the law of God than in any other civilized country in the world. How many sons treat their parents with contempt and make light of their entreaties?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
BEGIN IN THE HOME[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] The first four commandments deal with our relations to God. They tell us how to worship and when to worship; they forbid irreverence and impiety in word and act. Now God turns to our relations with each other, and isn't it significant that He deals first with family life? "God is going to show us our duty to our neighbor. How does He begin? Not by telling us how kings ought to reign, or how soldiers ought to fight, or how merchants ought to conduct their business, but how boys and girls ought to behave at home." [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We can see that if their home life is all right, they are almost sure to fulfill the law in regard to both God and man. Parents stand in the place of God to their children in a great many ways until the children arrive at years of discretion. If the children are true to their parents, it will be easier for them to be true to God. He used the human relationship as a symbol of our relationship to Him both by creation and by grace. God is our Father in heaven. We are His offspring. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]On the other hand, if they have not learned to be obedient and respectful at home, they are likely to have little respect for the law of the land. It is all in the heart; and the heart is prepared at home for good or bad conduct outside. The tree grows the way the twig is bent. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The lawlessness of the present time is a natural consequence of the growing absence of a feeling of respect for those in authority.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]TEMPORAL BLESSING OR CURSE[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] I believe it to be literally true that our temporal condition depends on the way we act upon this commandment. "Honour thy father and mother, (which is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the earth." "Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." "Cursed is he that setteth light by his father or mother." "Whoso curseth his father or mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness." [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]AN EXHORTATION[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Come, now, are you ready to be weighed? If you have been dishonoring your father and mother, step into the scales and see how quickly you will be found wanting. See how quickly you will strike the beam. I don't know any man who is much lighter than one who treats his parents with contempt. Do you disobey them just as much as you dare? Do you try to deceive them? Do you call them old-fashioned, and sneer at their advice? How do you treat that venerable father and praying mother? [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. [/FONT]
BEGIN IN THE HOME[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] The first four commandments deal with our relations to God. They tell us how to worship and when to worship; they forbid irreverence and impiety in word and act. Now God turns to our relations with each other, and isn't it significant that He deals first with family life? "God is going to show us our duty to our neighbor. How does He begin? Not by telling us how kings ought to reign, or how soldiers ought to fight, or how merchants ought to conduct their business, but how boys and girls ought to behave at home." [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We can see that if their home life is all right, they are almost sure to fulfill the law in regard to both God and man. Parents stand in the place of God to their children in a great many ways until the children arrive at years of discretion. If the children are true to their parents, it will be easier for them to be true to God. He used the human relationship as a symbol of our relationship to Him both by creation and by grace. God is our Father in heaven. We are His offspring. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]On the other hand, if they have not learned to be obedient and respectful at home, they are likely to have little respect for the law of the land. It is all in the heart; and the heart is prepared at home for good or bad conduct outside. The tree grows the way the twig is bent. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The lawlessness of the present time is a natural consequence of the growing absence of a feeling of respect for those in authority.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]TEMPORAL BLESSING OR CURSE[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] I believe it to be literally true that our temporal condition depends on the way we act upon this commandment. "Honour thy father and mother, (which is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the earth." "Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." "Cursed is he that setteth light by his father or mother." "Whoso curseth his father or mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness." [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]AN EXHORTATION[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Come, now, are you ready to be weighed? If you have been dishonoring your father and mother, step into the scales and see how quickly you will be found wanting. See how quickly you will strike the beam. I don't know any man who is much lighter than one who treats his parents with contempt. Do you disobey them just as much as you dare? Do you try to deceive them? Do you call them old-fashioned, and sneer at their advice? How do you treat that venerable father and praying mother? [/FONT]