I Brought You Into This World

He who strikes his father or his mother

shall surely be put to death. 

Exodus 21:15

 

I read this verse in the Scripture and I can’t help but think of Bill Cosby.


 

There was a day when our parents were held in a very high regard. Our parents, our grandparents, and our great grandparents were deeply respected and reverenced. We see here in the Word of God that this was an attitude that God demands of His people. God has not changed. He still demands this of His people.

There are three huge “fruit inspections” that I can’t help but catch notice of when I am evaluating a person’s place in the body of Christ… when I am trying to examine whether or not I can trust their confession and profession of Christ. Those three things are (1) their sexual behavior, (2) their thankfulness, and (3) their attitude and behavior toward their parents and others that are their elders. God is pretty clear about all of these. There is no gray area. Either you choose to obey in your love for Him and others or you still have you on the throne. Today are focus is on our attitude and behavior toward our parents.

When we respect and honor our parents we learn to respect authority and by this we learn to also honor and respect the authority of our Creator God. We have done a huge disservice to the children of our present day as we have let the government, from federal all the way down to county, strip us of our parental authority, our parental rights, and our parental obligations.

We have a generation of parents and grandparents that are scared to death of their children… it was designed by God to be the other way around.

My parents used Bill Cosby’s line. I knew they brought me into this world and I knew they could take me out… and I respected them. I respected them because I also knew that they loved me dearly. I knew they were my authority, my protection, my refuge, my safety, my providers, they were my parents.

We live in a day where we have argued so much about how to discipline that we have forgotten to discipline. 

We live in a day where we do a lot of counting to three… and counting to three and a quarter, and three and a half, and three and three quarters… and little Johnny and little Betty Sue never check up. Then to see little Johnny or little Betty Sue turn around and slap at their parents or kick them…  I honestly have to say that I have caught myself bending down at eye level with a complete stranger’s child and telling them myself that they are never to hit their mommy.

I think the first time my oldest child stuck me was probably before she could even talk. I grabbed her little hand and held it down at her side and looked deep in her eyes and told her very firmly, “NO. You do not hit Mommy.” My husband did the same the first time she tried it with him. We had to do the same thing with our youngest. The simple fact is, rebellion is born in them. Striking out against authority is in their nature. It must be dealt with immediately. Do not think that you can let them striking you go because they are “a baby” and think they will “grow out of it”. Deal with it the first time it happens. Address it firmly, but in love.

Following this verse in Exodus is another quite similar…

He who curses his father or his mother

shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:17

Usually this same child that is slapping and kicking at their parents is also cursing them. The slaps and kicks usually come with “I hate you‘s”,  “your mean’s”, “your stupid’s“, “I wish you weren’t my mommy/daddy“, “you never let me do anything’s“, “I wish I had never been born‘s” etc…

You were not to strike your parents and you are not to curse them.

Once again, the child is not going to grow out of this behavior… you the parent have to deal with it. Deal with it the first time it happens, and deal with it every time it happens.

Why?

The wages of sin is death. This behavior will lead to death in your child. You must teach your child to put this flesh fest of rebellion to death so that your child might have life.

We must also lead by example. How do you treat your own parents? Let us also remember that there is no disclosure in this verse that says your parents have to worthy of this honor… yes it makes it easier on you if they are… but their worth is never required for your obedience. We have to always remember that we honor and obey them “in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1-2).

We honor our parents because God said so… that is the end of the discussion. Lest we forget that we ourselves may not maintain a view of worthiness before our children eyes as we teach them to obey this command of God to them toward us.

Never forget that your kids are watching you… you will lead them… the question is where and how.

Oh Father, 

I am so very thankful for my parents. I was indeed blessed with parents that not only demanded my respect and obedience, but also lived lives that made it easy to obey them. I pray God, that as we live in these last days, where we see depravity growing more and more, and the fruit of that depravity being made evident in the disobedience of children to their parents (Romans 1:30, 2 Timothy 3:2), that You would keep my eyes open. Let me not be blinded by fleshly emotion as I train up my children in You. Help me to honor you always as I parent them. Guide me Father as I endeavor to raise them up to honor You and walk in Your ways. Keep guard over them. Protect them from the evil one and sanctify them in Your Word (John 17:15-17). Oh Father, I will be obedient to teach them Your Word and to set my own heart toward You, and trust that You in Your sovereignty and unfailing grace will use my mistakes for Your glory (Romans 8:28). 

My Jesus I love You and it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

 

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