Thesis 31 We must honor and obey our parents.
The serpent persuaded Eve that she would have a better life if she would disregard the law of God, and strive to become like Him. The serpent still in our day seeks to entice us to a better way, laying before us ever more complicated and treacherous paths to the good life. In our day he has persuaded us that the good life can be had through the attaining of personal peace and affluence. If we go to the best schools, and study hard, we will make our way to the finest universities. If we study hard there we will be accepted to the most prestigious graduate programs. If we excel there, we will find the most coveted jobs, and bring home the bacon. Then, of course, we’ll be able to afford the finest schools for our children, so they can follow in our path. This is not God’s path to the good life. It is hell’s hamster wheel.
In the book of Exodus God is busy about the business of taking His people to a land flowing with milk and honey. Along the way He meets with them at Sinai, becoming there the very husband of Israel. And He blesses His people with His law, the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are not merely rules to follow lest God should get angry with us. They are instead guides that reflect what we were made to be. They reflect the glory of our Maker, and show forth His character. Because we bear His image, they show us what we are to become.
While all of His law directs us in the paths of righteousness, one command stands out, the first command with a promise. God says, “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). If we love our children, this is what we want for them, that their days may be long in the land that the Lord God has given them. Our desire is that they would have a good life. (We desire the same, naturally enough, for ourselves.) God has not left us in the dark as to how we can attain this blessing- we are to honor our parents.
It is because of the craftiness of the serpent that we find this promise to be either too simple or too good to be true. It is by the grace of God that we can learn to believe the simplicity and power of this promise. And having wisely come to believe this promise, we in turn teach our children to do the same.
The Reformation doctrine of the priesthood of all believers affirms that we need not be highly trained professionals in order to understand the Word of God. We affirm that the Bible is perspicuous, that it is clear. It does not get any more clear than this: Blessing comes to those who honor their father and mother. May God be pleased to bless us such that we come to believe Him, and to honor Him, our Father in heaven.