loving your parents

CLICK HERE for the OT reading for today, and CLICK HERE for the NT reading.

Today Jesus reminds us that we are to love our parents. He rebukes the Pharisees for teaching that parents could be treated disrespectfully. He reminds His listeners, including us, that one of the ten commandments is to honor our parents.

Our culture today doesn't encourage us to do this. It DOES encourage us to obey some of the other commandments. Thou shalt not kill is part of our law (as long as the person you're killing has rights, which not all humans enjoy.) Our laws discourage lying and adultery. But our society encourages us to be insular. To leave our extended family behind, and have our own house with our spouse and children alone. And when our children grow up, they leave and get their own houses and we seldom see them.

Now I'm not saying that we all have to live together. I'm not suggesting that having your own home is evil. But I AM suggesting that sometimes we isolate ourselves in our western independent lifestyles to the point that we hurt our family members. Rather than taking care of ailing parents, we are taught by our society to relegate them to nursing homes for other people to take care of them, and we seldom or never visit.

Once again, I'm not saying that we should never put older people in nursing homes. Sometimes that really is the best solution, if their health needs are such that living at home will not provide the care they require. However, we MUST make it a priority to visit them regularly. To let them know that we love them, and that they're not forgotten. To remind them of their dignity and their importance in our lives. Even if they haven't been the best parents, we are ordered to love and respect them. Jesus didn't say, "Honor your parents if they did a good job."

So let's find ways to honor and show our respect for our parents. I would suggest that 90% of this is simply spending time with them. That's usually what they want more than anything.

God, thank You for teaching us to love our parents. Please help us do so.