You're not the boss of me!!!
There they go again, complaining about your music (there is no such thing as too much distortion), what you’re wearing (or not wearing), who you hang out with (and for how long), and a whole bunch of other stuff they apparently have no clue about.
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Sometimes it seems like parents were teleported here from another planet for all they understand about navigating adolescence.
Kids vs parents is as old as history itself – ever since that day Cain returned home an only child – well okay, his parents did have a
pretty good reason to be angry (he had a brother when he left the house). But it’s tough when you’re trying to expand your wings and they keep hitting your parents in the face. You just wanna do your own thing…
In the ultimate list of how to live a life of practical holiness (Exodus 20), God said, “Honour your mother and father”. It’s commandment number five and is just before “You shall not murder”. Whoa, surely staying out later than your curfew isn’t in the league of killing someone? No, of course not. But the root cause is the same – choosing our own will over that of God’s.
God fully designed us to be free thinking individuals, uniquely created with a purpose that no one else can fulfil. But He also knew we’d need boundaries – rules and guidelines to stop us veering onto the wrong side of the road and having a head on collision.
When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments He knew the Israelites would need to respect authority and build strong families. He knew the younger generations, just like Cain before them, would try and do their own thing – and not necessarily God’s thing. So He established an order for parents to pass on their knowledge and wisdom to the younger generations and instruct them in His ways, so they could make right choices.
Despite the fact that was thousands of years ago, the same rules pretty much apply today. God wants us to “honour” our parents – respect them, listen to them and do what they say – because they have the experience and wisdom that unfortunately only comes with time and a few hard knocks.
But that doesn’t mean you have to blindly agree with everything they say. You’re bound to have different ideas and opinions to your parents. If you think something is unfair or unreasonable, then you have the right to say so – preferably not screaming your opinion out from behind your locked bedroom door! Don’t forget your parents only put rules in place because they care about you – as hard as that is to understand at times.
"Honour. It’s kind of an old fashioned word, but it’s actually pretty cool. "
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Sometimes it seems like parents were teleported here from another planet for all they understand about navigating adolescence.
Kids vs parents is as old as history itself – ever since that day Cain returned home an only child – well okay, his parents did have a
pretty good reason to be angry (he had a brother when he left the house). But it’s tough when you’re trying to expand your wings and they keep hitting your parents in the face. You just wanna do your own thing…In the ultimate list of how to live a life of practical holiness (Exodus 20), God said, “Honour your mother and father”. It’s commandment number five and is just before “You shall not murder”. Whoa, surely staying out later than your curfew isn’t in the league of killing someone? No, of course not. But the root cause is the same – choosing our own will over that of God’s.
God fully designed us to be free thinking individuals, uniquely created with a purpose that no one else can fulfil. But He also knew we’d need boundaries – rules and guidelines to stop us veering onto the wrong side of the road and having a head on collision.
When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments He knew the Israelites would need to respect authority and build strong families. He knew the younger generations, just like Cain before them, would try and do their own thing – and not necessarily God’s thing. So He established an order for parents to pass on their knowledge and wisdom to the younger generations and instruct them in His ways, so they could make right choices.
Despite the fact that was thousands of years ago, the same rules pretty much apply today. God wants us to “honour” our parents – respect them, listen to them and do what they say – because they have the experience and wisdom that unfortunately only comes with time and a few hard knocks.
But that doesn’t mean you have to blindly agree with everything they say. You’re bound to have different ideas and opinions to your parents. If you think something is unfair or unreasonable, then you have the right to say so – preferably not screaming your opinion out from behind your locked bedroom door! Don’t forget your parents only put rules in place because they care about you – as hard as that is to understand at times.
"Honour. It’s kind of an old fashioned word, but it’s actually pretty cool. "
Honour. It’s kind of an old fashioned word, but it’s actually pretty cool. It means to have a high respect, adhere to what is right, to have nobleness of mind and distinction. How do we apply that to our parents? Well, it means listening even when you don’t agree, it means obeying the rules they set in place for you and it means not dissing them when you’re talking with your friends. It means following their Godly example and it means loving them. Yip, they drive you crazy at times, but chances are there’s no one on earth that will ever love you more.
Obeying isn’t very popular these days. But Jesus gives us the most awesome picture of obedience when He asked God to take the cup from Him when He was praying in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39). He said “My Father, if it is possible may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will”. Jesus was saying He knew what was ahead and He didn’t want to go through with it. But, ultimately He listened and respected God enough to choose God’s will over His own. It’s very easy to say God tells us to honour our parents, so that’s what we should do. But it’s not always that black and white. What if one of them abandoned you, or abused you in some form? How are you meant to show respect to people who have hurt you? We should never obey anyone that tells us to do something that contradicts God’s Word. God doesn’t want us to struggle with feelings of bitterness and rejection – or to be in a situation where our physical or mental wellbeing is threatened. Respecting our parents is a choice, and if there are things that prevent you from making that choice, then God wants to heal you. Don’t be afraid to seek help if that’s what you need – talk to someone you trust.
