Don't Be Disrespectful To Your Parents

Today I got extremely angry with my mother; so angry that I said things that I now feel ashamed of. I felt really bad because last night I happened to switch to a Christian evangelist who was talking about how to succeed at life. One of the points he spoke about was that if you honor your father and mother, you would live long and you will be blessed in all you do. That was the latest in a long line of 'reminders' that I had been receiving lately from the Lord. 

But living long and doing well is not the reason that I feel ashamed. Yes, of course I want to live long and succeed, and I admit that this thought did go through my mind. I also confess that I felt ashamed that when I spoke to Mom that my voice was so raised that the neighbors heard, and I knew that they thought badly of me as a Christian. But in the end, I knew that I did not do the right thing and I feel ashamed.

In Matthew 15 verse 4 Jesus Christ told his disciples. "God said, 'honor your father and your mother' and 'anyone who speaks cruelly to his father and mother must be put to death." If I lived in the time of the Israelite people when they lived in the desert after they left Egypt, I would have been stoned to death if I had done that. God still punishes when people are cruel to their parents. In a movie called "Facing the Giants" the coach was speaking to one of his football players who always spoke disrespectfully and acted rebelliously to his father. The young man had told him that he did not respect his father and he could not speak respectfully to him because of how he acted. The coach replied tersely that the young footballer was not responsible for his dad's behaviou; what he was responsible to God for was the state of his heart towards his father and the need to respect and honor his father. That is the main point of this whole incident. I'm not responsible for how my mom behaves or does, even though I may not agree or even understand how she thinks and what she does. My responsibility is to respect her BECAUSE SHE IS MY MOTHER.

What happened made me face the fact that I have sinned by being angry and disrespectful to my mother. I know that I have to deal with my anger. This anger was not only against my mom, but other issues I have to deal with. If I do not get the help that I need soon, I will end up doing some harm to myself and/or someone else.  The Bible said that you must confess your faults to one another and pray for one another that you will be healed. That's what I plan to do and get the help that I need.

So, if you have any kind of problems with your parents, deal with it. Go to a counsellor if you need to. But make sure that you show respect for your parents. If you haven't, it's not too late to change. Go humbly and make it right with them. I intend to.

God said, "honor your father and your mother' and "anyone who speaks cruelly to his father and mother must be put to death." Matthew 15 verse 4 (New Century Version)