Why does God tell us to honor our parents? What does that teach us about God?
Video here, and/or read on:
Most of us go through this kind of process. When we are small children, our parents can do no wrong. Then we get a little older, and our parents can do no right. Then we get older still, and we realize that our parents are flawed human beings that hopefully tried to do their best. They meant well, but sometimes carried out those intentions poorly. That is reality.
Yet, at every step along the process, God asks us to honor them.
There’s a lot that could be said here about family, about transmitting values from one generation to another, about learning from the voice of experience. But I think I’ll focus on this one small slice of the pie: My parents are a mirror that shows me myself.
I too am a dad. I too meant well, but didn’t always carry out those intentions very well. I too am a flawed human being. I have something to offer, and I want to be understood and respected for that, and I guess I’m hoping that others will have patience with my faults.
Maybe God is saying that He knows. He knows we have imperfect parents, but, even so, they are His gift to us. They gave us life. They watched over us when we were young. He knows too that we will be imperfect parents, but He wants us to know of His gratitude that we cared for the children we thought were ours but all along belonged to Him.
Dwight
PS. We make resolutions or set goals, yet sometimes something seems to be holding us back. Why can’t we lose weight, write that book, finish that project? What’s holding us back? Many times it’s hidden, inner barriers that God wants to remove from our lives. This week in Inner Wealth we’ll explore how that process works.
