6 Feb 2013 by Adeline Lum CM-
Chinese New Year is coming! Advertisements often depict this season as a time where children near and far would travel back to visit their parents. Grandpa, grandma, mummy, daddy, children, aunties, uncles and cousins would sit together in a round table filled with delicious Chinese delicacies. A time to show respect and honour their parents, grown-up children would pour tea for their aged parents and have them first pick the food to inaugurate the reunion meal.
In fact, God takes the long-standing value of honouring our parents seriously. It is the first commandment with a promise of long life (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Ephesians 6:1-4)!
Ephesians 6:1-3
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.”
An important law during the exodus period from Egypt to the Promised Land, we can imagine how respecting and honouring parents are vital to keep the whole family together as a unit. Aging parents would probably need more stops and rest during the journey on foot through the desert, not to mention care as well from their stronger and younger children. And this law prevents abandoning any old parents.
Watch this touching video!
Nevertheless, this value is greatly devalued in our time. Try searching in Youtube for this subject and there’re hardly any popular-rated videos on this topic.
Proverbs 30:17
The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.
What does it mean by respecting and honouring our parents? Perhaps, it is easier to recall a time of disrespect and dishonour. It could be as simple as not looking at them during a conversation, raising your voice when irritated, completing their sentence before they finished conversing, rolling your eyes when they inconvenient you, and thinking that spending more time with them is a waste of time.
Watch this video of how we take our parents for granted:
Leviticus 19:32
“You shall stand up before the gray head and honour the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
Of course, honouring and respecting are easier and natural for a loving and caring parent who did things ‘right.’ What if we come from a dysfunctional family plagued with drugs, alcohol and abuse? This is a good question, which will be answered in the next article. However, for the rest of us who did not grow up in a dysfunctional family (as described before) but a ‘less-than-perfect’ family, the Bible did command us to forgive our parents, and honour them.
Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
May what we see in advertisements come alive in our household as well. Let us pray to God to change our hearts to repent in showing respect, honour and mostly love to our parents. Have a blessed, blessed Chinese New Year!
Dear Viewers in Christ, if you find this article edifying to you, please share with your friends or loved ones by using the social media plugs (Share, Email to this article). The Lord will surely bless you as you bless others. May the Lord’s peace and love be with you. Amen.
References for pictures:
http://www.chengwoh.com/sites/default/files/3.jpg
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/MakeADiff_HTML/asians.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/02/01/china_newyear_020208_wideweb__470x304,0.jpg
http://your-billboards.values.com/9414/small/forgiveness.jpg
http://atatakai.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/new-year-reunion-dinner.jpg
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