Honour Your Parents

Honour Your Parents

Abstract: These days some of the teenagers and the youth have  lot of communication gap with their parents. This leads to tension in their relationship.This can be sorted out with proper understanding between the parents and their children. A passage from Sirach an Old Testament book (3: 1-15) tells about the fruits of respecting and obeying parents.

These days during the interaction with teenagers and the youth,some of them share their broken relationship with their parents. Some parents on the other hand have come to me for prayer request  for their college going children. It is true that as children step into their adolescence there arises some communication gap with their parents. During these periods they give more listening to their peer groups than their parents. They want to be more in the company of their peer group than parents. Some parents feel very bad because of the sudden attitudinal changes in their children. More over parents feel that their children are not obeying them and show resistance to their advices. Most often children also feel that their parents poke their nose in all their personal freedom and interactions and they get irritated in return. Children show their irritation through back answering, rude behaviors and gestures.

This is a very common problem in most of the families with teenagers and budding youths.  But these problems can be easily sorted out if both children and parents try to understand the situations. Children should understand the sacrifices their parents are making each and every day to bring them up. From the day a child is born parents are after the child caring him or her day in and day out. Each child should think how much his/her mother had suffered to bring him/her up? How much her /his father has struggled to meet both ends? They do everything because of their love towards you.  Do not take every thing for granted. It would be good that children should spend some time to think about their parents love towards them. (I do admit that for some children  have not experienced the love of parents.)

On the other hand parents should also understand their children and give them support and freedom as they grow up. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4) says the bible. Parents should respect the freedom of their children and guide them to use this freedom responsibly. Children should be able to respect their parents and share their feelings with their parents. There should be an open relationship. Children should be able to experience the warmth in parents’ relation and must interact with them politely.  Honor your father and mother that you may live long on the earth (Ephesians 6:3). To make things easy there must be a good family atmosphere. Parents should take care to be role models to their children.

Sirach an Old Testament book (3: 1-15) tells about the fruits of respecting and obeying parents. 
An abstract from  the book of Sirach is presented.

1.  Honour your father by word and deed to have blessing from the father
2. Honour your Father to get your sins atoned
3. Honour your father your prayers will be answered
4. Glorify your father to have long life on earth
5. Do not  glorify yourself by dishonoring your father
6. Father's blessing strengthens the house of children
7.  Man's glory comes from honoring his father
8. Glorify your Mother to lay up treasure
9. Mother's curse uproots their foundations
10. Lack of respect to mother brings disgrace  for children
11. Help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him as long as he lives;
12.  Do not despise your father even when your father is lacking understanding  but show forbearance. Kindness to a father will not be forgotten for your sins will not be remembered (as frost in fair weather, your sins will melt away). 

Thus Man's glory comes from Honouring the father (parents). So honour your parents by your words and deeds. Honouring your father (parents) will bring blessing, will lay up treasure  and strengthens your house.  you will have long life on earth and Your sins will be atoned.  Dishonouring the mother (parents) will bring curse and disgrace  that will uproot the foundations of your house. Help  your parents in old age and do not grieve along as they live. Do not despise them even when your parents lack understanding but you have show forbearance.