By Min Andre Powell
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12
Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; Ephesians 6:2
The dictionary defines honor as: to hold in honor or high respect; revere: to honor one's parents. God gives this instruction to honor our parents as a commandment, which means it better be obeyed! This is something that is near and dear to the Lord, otherwise the added promise wouldn't be necessary. The promise is…that thy days may be long up the land. And for many of us that promise is a great thing (more time to live is definitely a plus in my book!).
Growing up I was taught to have manners. It was yes ma'am and no ma'am, yes sir and no sir to my elders. Please and thank you to everyone. I didn’t do this because my peers said so, but because my mom said so, which meant it was law. I may have forgotten it at times, but then my mom would look at me with her "Don't make me grab you, answering me with WHAT!" stare. As I got older, things became a little more relaxed with me, but I never lost that habit of being respectful. Today, some people even tell me that I make them feel so old when I say yes ma’am and no sir – but it was just how I was raised. I know that if it were not for my mother and grandmother I would be a very poor speaker and pretty rude. They instilled in me that politeness and chivalry are important, no matter when or where. And even when I may have dismissed things they taught, I knew better.
Because I honored my mother, I was obedient to what she said and asked (most of the time without any lip). When we revere our parents, we get blessing and there is no simpler way to say it. Don’t disrespect them and don't take them for granted. You only have one mom and one dad. That is all. Yes others my adopt you into their families, (the Metz-Gecowets, Coles and Hawkins families have adopted me and, while I know that I am not blood kin to them, they treat me like one of them and I honor them just the same), but there is still only one mother and father that are your blood.
It really annoys me how much society has made it okay to be disrespectful to our elders. There is such a lack of respect for each other and it is worse between kids and grown ups. When I was growing up, spankings were okay. If a child was out of line, you spanked them and sent them home to their parents. There was less time out and more switches (if you have every picked your own you know exactly what I'm talking about). If society would go back to when it was okay to correct our children properly, maybe there would be less unruly youth. Maybe kids would receive better grades. Maybe there would be fewer smarty pants and bad attitudes. One of my favorite lines from a parent is: "I'm disciplining you because I love you…" But I will never forget what my grandma said to my mom, "You're never too old to get a whippin!" (I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. I love you Grandma Henderson!).
Out of honor and reverence to your parents, be obedient, listen to what they have to say and do as they ask you even if you don't want to. They are looking out for your best interest even when you get to be my age. Just remember, "You're NEVER too old to get a whippin!"