Are you lacking blessings?
Are you unable to get along with others? Are things not going well in your life? Are your children disrespectful to you?
Do you know why?
Could this ...?... be the reason?
Read to find out more.
Just a revelation, which I thought might be useful to someone, if shared...God bless!
Genesis 9:20-22 NIV
"Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. [21] When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. [22] Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside."
Ham saw his father's nakedness and instead of covering him, Ham exposed the news about his father's nakedness to his brothers. Noah was Ham's father and instead of covering his father's nakedness himself and protecting his honour, Ham exposed him.
Deuteronomy 5:16
“Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
Jesus goes a little further by saying this in Matthew 15:4 For God said: 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of his father or mother must be put to death.'
Those who honour their fathers and mothers will be bountifully blessed in every area of their lives. That means not just on this earth but we will be blessed eternally in heaven.
Those who dishonour their parents will suffer dire consequences, according to God's Word.
Are we honouring our parents, respecting our spouses (our children see how we speak to one another), and do we protect their dignity?
As parents grow old they may not be quick in thinking, cohesive in speaking or alert as the young are. Once upon a time they were healthy, robust and did everything for us and covered our shame. Yet now they are weak and frail. They may be forgetful, wait in front of the lift or traffic light without pressing the button or they may repeat the same story again or ask the same questions over and over again, or they may be clumsy like a child when eating, drinking or in their toilette habits.
When our elderly parents make a mistake do we treat them as small kids and reprimand them? When they are unable to help us later in life ( it could be due to failing health which may not be visible to us, or due to financial or other constraints) do we get angry with them, shun them and refuse to care for them or even allow them to see their grandchildren? Do we belittle our parents and scoff at them when they disagree with us?
Have we allowed our spouses to dishonour our parents? Have we simply condoned our spouse's actions and spiteful behaviour towards our parents or his/her parents? Have we allowed our spouses to talk disrespectfully about our parents? Remember, once we are married we are bound by God's law to honour our parents in law because they now become our parents.
What is the morally and biblically right and proper thing to do? Should we :-
1) make fun of their behavior, expose their shame, laugh it off with those who are with us, as if it is a joke, gossip about them and talk disrespectfully about them?
OR
2) try to understand them and help them in a way we can, be respectful to them always, both in front of them and behind them, honour them and pray for them?
If we choose to do (1), then, we are breaking the fifth commandment and also committing the same sin as Ham.
The same curse which fell upon Ham's son would have fallen upon our children. But...thank God our Father for His mercy and love and His grace that He has given us His Son Jesus Christ, Who took our sins upon Himself, suffered, died and rose again victoriously.
We now have forgiveness for all our sins when we put our faith in Jesus and repent of our sins. Thank our merciful Saviour, for now our sins will not be passed on to our children because of the new covenant in Christ.
That does not give us the prerogative to refrain from repenting and seeking forgiveness from the Almighty and from our parents. If we don't, then we will have to suffer the consequences for dishonouring and disrespecting our parents.
Remember, our children are watching our every action and are hearing every word we speak. How we treat our parents will be the way our children treat us.
The Bible has much to warn about blessings for honouring parents and curses for dishonouring parents and about scoffers/mockers and those who sit with them. (Check out the verses at the end of this article.)
We must teach our children to fear the Lord God and His Word and to obey Him. We can only teach them first by how we behave towards our own parents and parents in law. Children learn by seeing.
If we and our children are not blessed in some areas of our lives, we need to examine ourselves and ask why? If we have not honoured our parents/parents in law or shown disrespect to them by scoffing, if we have magnified their mistakes and spoken disrespectfully or gossiped about them, if we have talked down to them, raised our authoritative voice at them, instead of talking gently to them and praying for them, we need to truly repent and seek their forgiveness. Repentance is a must and apology is much needed.
Let us not legalize what we have done. Let us not give excuses but simply go to the Lord and repent and promise, never to dishonour our parents again. Then let us go to our parents if they are still alive (please do it before it is too late, lest you regret all your life) and tell them we are sorry. That word alone will gladden their hearts and they will bless us with gladdened hearts and we will be blessed abundantly by our Father God.
A note to children:- We must tremble to do wrong.Never dishonour or disrespect your daddy snd mummy. It is not cool to follow what we see on TV and talk to our parents in the same disrespectful way. Always remember that they are God's representatives to care for you on earth. Always obey them. Do not make them sad by quarrelling with your siblings. Give them due honour and respect, whether you feel they deserve it or not. Only then, all that you do will prosper.
Here is a bible verse for you to remember and live accordingly:-
Proverbs 6:16-19 Amplified Bible
16
These six things the Lord hates;
Indeed, seven are repulsive to Him:
17
A proud look [the attitude that makes one overestimate oneself and discount others], a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
18
A heart that creates wicked plans,
Feet that run swiftly to evil,
19
A false witness who breathes out lies [even half-truths],
And one who spreads discord (rumors) among brothers.
Remember this:- Repenting and saying, "Sorry" is not weakness, rather it shows our strength of character and helps us to remain humble before our Great and Mighty God.
Useful Bible verses to heed:-
Proverbs 24:9 ESV
The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.
Proverbs 21:24 ESV
"Scoffer" is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride.
Psalm 1:1 ESV
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
Proverbs 13:1 ESV
A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
Proverbs 19:29 ESV
Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and beating for the backs of fools.
Proverbs 22:10 ESV
Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.
Ephesians 6:1-3 ESV
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.
Proverbs 20:20 ESV
If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.
Colossians 3:20 NLT
Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord.
Exodus 21:15 ESV
“Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
Proverbs 23:22 ESV
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Mary Augustine
28th September 2020
