In my day, we respected our elders, especially our parents, or we got slapped across the face, and a good chewing out; and Children Services was never involved. The reason given to us to honor and respect our parents was, “Because I am your Dad!” “ Because I am your Mom!” The very fact that our parents brought us into this world demanded respect and honor for them!
We dressed up for church, and knew how to be quiet and reverent in the House of God. The Prayer Room was a sacred holy place where you tiptoed, and respected God and His angels ministering to His people.
We knew how to ask politely, and say Thank you.
We held doors open for women, and helped the elderly with their packages.
We said our prayers before going to sleep, even if it was “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep”.
We worked hard for what we bought, as there was very little that our parents had that they could give away. If we wanted it, we had to work for it.
We feared the policeman, the school teacher, the preacher, or anyone that had an office of authority.
We respected other people’s property, and expected them to respect ours, leaving our doors unlocked.
We shook hands, and kept our word without paper contracts.
We watched wholesome TV programs, and listened to wholesome radio talk shows.
The Family Bible was proudly displayed on the coffee table, even if it was rarely opened.
Now look at what Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor that he had won and trained as a disciple of the Lord. (II Timothy 3:1-7)
In the last days:
- Perilous times will come (no security anywhere or in anything – lock your doors – watch your back)
- Men shall be lovers of their own selves (self is exalted above all else)
- Covetous (desiring more than we can afford, especially what others have)
- Boasters (Bragging about our skills and knowledge as though we gave these to ourselves)
- Proud (better than others – I would never do what they do)
- Unthankful (entitlement, it is all owed to me)
- Unholy (calling good evil and evil good – behaving more like animals following instincts, instead of developing the Image or character of God)
- Fierce (extreme out-of-control violence in all areas of life and relationships)
- Incontinent (without restraint – excess in everything we do)
- Trucebreakers (promises made easily with no intention of keeping them)
- Blasphemers (Calling God the devil, and deliberately doing anything God dislikes, calling evil good)
- Disobedient to Parents (Name calling, no honor as head of the house or the table)
- Without Natural Affection (Think of all the family estrangements and killings, including unwanted babies)
- False Accusers (lies told for personal advantage)
- Traitors (Can’t trust anyone in authority anymore)
- High-minded (Exalted as our own god – Self-made)
- Heady (headstrong – self-willed)
- Despisers of those who are good (justifying our own evil ways)
- Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God (idols made of entertainers, but no time to pray to God)
- Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (pick and choose which teachings to obey)
- Ever learning, and never able to come to the Truth (Unlimited access to knowledge and degrees, but refuse to honor God who created us)
Jesus Christ the Great I AM
Jesus Christ was God in the Flesh, yet He knew what it was like to be without respect and honor. His own family refused to believe Him. Many mocked Him, made fun of Him, challenged every word that He taught, said evil and false things about Him, belittled His miracles and healings, and finally, held an illegal trial to crucify Him, refusing to believe that He was the Son of God. Yet He still is the Son of God. And He will soon come to Jerusalem to rule the earth with Justice and Truth, and every knee will bow to Him as their Lord and God and King!
The reason that my parents gave me for honoring them is the same reason Jesus Christ gives to each of us to give Him honor. ‘I AM’ If I should honor my parents because they are my earthly parents, how much more should I honor Christ as the God who gives me the Breath of Life, as well as Eternal Life?!
John 8:58, “Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM”
Jesus existed before Abraham; and He was the same Being as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
When God revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:13-14, Moses asked Him His name. “I AM WHO I AM” was the reply. Tell Israel that ‘I AM’ has sent you.
Jesus claimed to be the ‘I AM’ of Exodus 3:14.
‘I Am’ is related to the personal name for God in the Old Testament, the Hebrew name YHWH. When this name appears in our English Bibles, it is usually rendered as small letters in the word, ‘LORD’. Some translations will transliterate it as ‘Jehovah’.
The Jews knew exactly what Jesus meant, and they picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy.
‘I AM’, and ‘YHWH’, and ‘Jehovah’, are all related to absolute timeless self-existence, conveying the meanings of ‘The Eternal One’. ‘The One Who Always Exists’ or ‘The One Who Was, Is, and Always Will Be’. These distinctions can only apply to God, whose existence is eternal and everlasting!
Isaiah 42:8 says, “I AM the LORD (YHWH – Jehovah) that is my Name; and My Glory I will not give to another, nor my Praise to carved images.”
Isaiah 44:6 says, “Thus says the LORD (YHWH – Jehovah), the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the LORD of Hosts: “I AM the First and I AM the Last; besides Me there is no God.”
Jesus, making the claim that He was the ‘I AM’, was saying that He was the God whom the Hebrews knew as YHWH or Jehovah. This name was considered so holy that a devout Jew would not pronounce it. This is a Name that can only refer to the one true God!
When Jesus was arrested, His use of ‘I AM’ had a special effect on those making the arrest. “Now when He said to them, “I AM HE”, they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:6) The word ‘He’ is in italics, meaning the word was added by the translators to make it more grammatically correct, but it obscures the fact that He was claiming again to be the ‘I AM’ of Exodus 3:14!
“Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
Revelation 22:11-15 says,
“Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.”
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
Our society is falling apart without honoring our parents, and without honoring our God. Honoring self is bringing the world to the brink of a third world war that will destroy 50% of the world’s population, as foretold in the Book of Revelation.
God is the Head of Christ, Christ is the head of the husband, the husband is the head of the wife, the wife is the head of the children. The children are to obey their parents, with the promise of a long healthy life. The wife is to obey her husband, with the promise that angels will watch over her and her family. Husbands are to obey Christ, as Christ obeys His Father.
Honor and Respect are innate in each human soul, and cries for expression. Behaving as animals will not release it, nor will it bring in the Kingdom of God on earth, as Jesus taught us to pray. Only by seeking God to duplicate the character of His Son in our hearts, will we see Christ be lifted up from the earth and draw all men unto Himself!
Respect and Honor your parents, that God may bless you in this life and in eternity! Respect and Honor Jesus Christ as the Only Way to the Father, and as the giver of Eternal Life, and as the holder of all Truth, that when you stand before Him at the moment of your death, your knees will already have bowed, and your tongue will have already confessed that He is Lord of lords and King of kings!