11 Jesus also told them another story:
Once a man had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, “Give me my share of the property.” So the father divided his property between his two sons.
13 Not long after that, the younger son packed up everything he owned and left for a foreign country, where he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 He had spent everything, when a bad famine spread through that whole land. Soon he had nothing to eat.
15 He went to work for a man in that country, and the man sent him out to take care of his pigs. 16 He would have been glad to eat what the pigs were eating, but no one gave him a thing.
17 Finally, he came to his senses and said, “My father’s workers have plenty to eat, and here I am, starving to death! 18 I will go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer good enough to be called your son. Treat me like one of your workers.’”
20 The younger son got up and started back to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him.
21 The son said, “Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son.”
22 But his father said to the servants, “Hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him. Give him a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 Get the best calf and prepare it, so we can eat and celebrate. 24 This son of mine was dead, but has now come back to life. He was lost and has now been found.” And they began to celebrate.
25 The older son had been out in the field. But when he came near the house, he heard the music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants over and asked, “What’s going on here?”
27 The servant answered, “Your brother has come home safe and sound, and your father ordered us to kill the best calf.” 28 The older brother got so angry that he would not even go into the house.
His father came out and begged him to go in. 29 But he said to his father, “For years I have worked for you like a slave and have always obeyed you. But you have never even given me a little goat, so that I could give a dinner for my friends. 30 This other son of yours wasted your money on prostitutes. And now that he has come home, you ordered the best calf to be killed for a feast.”
31 His father replied, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we should be glad and celebrate! Your brother was dead, but he is now alive. He was lost and has now been found.”
The Fourth Commandment
Honor your father and your mother.
What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God, so that we neither despise nor anger our parents and others in authority, but instead honor, serve, obey, love, and respect them.
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The Fourth Commandment introduces us to a series of commandments that define proper relationships with other people. The first people we meet are our parents. Fortunately, they are delighted to meet us, too. Our first positive, loving relationships begin with our parents. They teach us how to love and how to live. Just in those two tasks are reason enough to honor them. But there is much more to this commandment.
Theologian Leah Baugh points out six implications of this commandment.
1. The fourth commandment is rooted in God’s way of structuring creation.
The family structure not only provides for the population of the world but also is for the good of children and society in general.
In our communities, we take the family structure for granted. In fact, we have a bias toward a male parent and female parent and any number of children. But a family is not limited to that definition. A friend of mine taught Junior Achievement to Kindergartens. The curriculum for Kindergartners centers around family. Patty asked the kids how many of them belonged to a family. Not everyone raised as hand. She discovered that those with single parents did not feel like they deserved to be called family. Patty was able to set them straight. She told them that she was a widow, so she and her daughter were the only ones in their family but they were still family.
I think, too, of a child I call my grandson, even though he is not related, and has never lived in my home or the home of my children. Sometimes family is not blood; it is something just as strong: love and respect. This particular grandson spends a lot of time breaking the law. He doesn’t spend much time in school because he fights with the other kids. But he is still, on some mysterious level, family. He belongs somewhere.
The point is, family is a structure that we count on, a way for us to organize ourselves. We are not born independent and it is natural for us to make connections and nourish and value those connections. Family is the system for which God made us.
Psalms 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb a reward.
2. Honoring our parents is one way we honor and love God.
Keeping the fourth commandment is part of the Christian’s call to love God and love neighbor. Like the other commandments, our obedience is proof that we love God.
3. Honoring our parents means more than doing chores.
Honoring our parents is a lifetime commitment that includes respect and reciprocation. We have useful reminders on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to honor our parents. Then we buy cards that express in verses what we find hard to say in the ordinary times with our parents. We put extra effort in to finding ways to give our parents more than the usual care. And, as many of us know, we continue to honor our parents to the ends of their lives, performing for them the same tasks they performed for us when we were children. Eventually, we become the wise ones who guide them in their last days.
Proverbs 1: 8 My child, obey the teachings of your parents, 9 and wear their teachings as you would a lovely hat or a pretty necklace.
4. The fourth commandment has implications for parents as well.
Parenting does not come naturally. Parents have to be just as intentional as their children in following God’s rules.
Paul warns in Ephesians: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4)
Deuteronomy 6: 4 Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God! 5 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. 6 Memorize his laws 7 and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you’re at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning.
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 3:12 The Lord corrects everyone he loves, just as parents correct their favorite child.
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
5. Family relationships have been rocky and difficult ever since Adam’s fall (Gen. 3). Cain killed Abel, Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, even Jesus family disagreed with him. Mark 3: 20 Jesus went back home, and once again such a large crowd gathered that there was no chance even to eat. 21 When Jesus’ family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.
The best example of this is the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). In the story of the prodigal son, the wayward son dishonored his father by asking for his inheritance early and running off to squander it. Yet, the son, incredibly disobedient, is welcomed back by the father. However, this doesn’t mean the family is now perfect. The older brother, who always obeyed his father, now feels gypped.
6. Christ was the perfect child by honoring his earthly parents and heavenly Father.
We have Jesus as an example for honoring parents. Remember it was his mother who was with him at the wedding at Cana. And as he was dying, he turned the care of his mother over to one of his disciples. John 19: 25 Jesus’ mother stood beside his cross with her sister and Mary the wife of Clopas. Mary Magdalene was standing there too. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and his favorite disciple with her, he said to his mother, “This man is now your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “She is now your mother.” From then on, that disciple took her into his own home.
I want to look at one more interpretation of this commandment. Martin Luther and other theologians expanded the meaning of the commandment to include all those in positions of authority. That makes obeying the commandment more complicated because not all who are in authority over us are God-fearing people.
Luther believed that God had set the rulers in their places and because they were appointed by God, they should receive respect and obedience. God expects political fathers to preserve order and harmony and to prevent conflict within a nation. Luther might have had a ruler like Job in mind:
Job 29: 11b Everyone was pleased with what I said and did. 12 When poor people or orphans cried out for help, I came to their rescue. 13 And I was highly praised for my generosity to widows and others in poverty. 14 Kindness and justice were my coat and hat; 15 I was good to the blind and to the lame. 16 I was a father to the needy, and I defended them in court, even if they were strangers. 17 When criminals attacked, I broke their teeth and set their victims free.
Thomas Watson’s job description for a leader is thus: He is the father of his country; he is to be an encourager of virtue, a punisher of vice, and a father to the widow and orphan.
In 1 Timothy 2, Paul asks us to pray for our leaders:
2 First of all, I ask you to pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God how thankful you are for each of them. 2 Pray for kings and others in power, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives as we worship and honor God.
Our state and national leaders have not enjoyed the support that comes with admiration and approval. Instead, they have been criticized and maligned in newscasts, in editorials, and over cups of coffee. Many voters feel helpless and have given up on our political system. No matter what our political views, no matter how we perceive our power in the political system, we should think about Paul’s request: pray for those in power. It can’t hurt, and we know that prayer is answered.
Honor your father and mother…and all those who care for you. Be a good role model for the next generation. Pray for your leaders. That’s God’s plan. Make it yours. Amen.
1 https://cccdiscover.com/6-things-to-know-about-the-fifth-commandment/
Leah Baugh grew up in Southern California where she rode horses and helped out with the family garden. She studied chemistry in college before turning to theology and receiving a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies. She enjoys traveling, making soap, playing music, writing fiction, and spending time with friends. Her greatest desire is that people from all nations would come to know Jesus and grow in their understanding of his Word.
2 Thomas Watson, http://biblehub.com/
Some Kind of Faith 