Glad Parents

I’ve mention Glenys’ Morning Cuppa before, and when I ran across this picture and verse she posted, it fit right in with a topic on my mind. Thanks, Glenys, for permission to use and link!

It sort of takes two verses to start down the path I thought:

The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice. (Proverbs 23:24-25 KJV)

Notice that it doesn’t say that the father or the mother are righteous, and does say the child is both righteous and wise. The wise child follows:

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 KJV)

That’s repeated once more in the Old Testament:

Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (Deuteronomy 5:16 KJV)

We find it again in the New Testament, Matthew 15:3-6, Mark 7:9-13 and Luke 18:18-23, as part of Jesus’ lesson on keeping the truth of God’s commandment, not the face value. Again, in Matthew 19:16-22 and Mark 10:17-22,  Jesus uses that commandment in His conversation with the young rich man.

Paul uses this teaching, too:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. (Ephesians 6:1-3 KJV)

I like that Paul included ‘obey’ and ‘this is right.’ The majority of parents look to the safety of their children. Obeying their parents will add years to their lives. We’ve all heard of incidents where disobeying parents brought death to teens. The first that comes to my mind is the death of young people combining alcohol and automobiles. The proof that they are not indestructible brings horror to their parents that never leaves.

The question arises, though, “What about children whose parents are not Christian and the child is? Are the parents to be obeyed?”

Absolutely.  Although this verse is for wives of unsaved husbands, the concept fits just as well for children:

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; (1 Peter 3:1 KJV)

Children are under the authority of their parents. Secular society expects parents to be responsible for their children. At least, it works better that way! Parents truly are glad when their children grow up righteous and wise, and children may win parents by their conversations.

I have the greatest admiration for a child who loves the Lord enough to obey their parents, even when it appears to be in error, and can make their parents understand the love they hold – for them and for their Lord.