"Honor your father
and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives
you. Exodus 20:12
Today we observe a day
designed to give honor to mothers. This
man-initiated observance is a single day devoted to what all children should be doing
every day of the year. God commands all
children to honor their parents to be acceptable in His sight and receive His blessings. But what does it mean “to honor”? The American Heritage College Dictionary defines
honor as high respect; special merit; esteem; glory or recognition; distinction. If we study that definition and read what God has
commanded in the Bible, we find it is an attitude as much as an act.
If we honor someone, we are
careful to treat them with respect, being always mindful of their position and giving
preference to their wishes above our own whenever possible.
We speak to them in a way that recognizes their distinctive position, being
careful not to offend or disrespect them in any way.
We listen to what they have to say and try to accept it gracefully, even if
we are not entirely in agreement, because we value their judgment or at least respect
their position of authority. We recognize
they are to be treated in a manner different from others we might interact with from day
to day.
God expects us to treat our
parents in this way, being respectful of their position as parents over us and the
responsibility God has placed in their hands to bring us up in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord. We are to be careful
how we speak to them, trying always to be gentle, understanding, and submissive to them. We need to appreciate how difficult their
responsibility is to carry out parental duties and how much they have sacrificed to
provide for us. If we honor them in our
heart, we will honor them with our external actions toward them. We will hold them in high esteem, deserving of
special praise and our respect.
Many of us will take our
mothers out to lunch today to honor them. That
can be a very thoughtful and appreciated expression of honor, but, in order to honor them
as God has commanded us to, we must do more than that.
We must maintain an “attitude of honor” toward them from day to
day. How do you honor your parents? Is it a continual, observable “attitude of
honor” or just an occasional meal out?
Our nation has
systematically reduced the honor and prestige God bestowed on motherhood. He recognizes the respect a mother should receive
when she has fulfilled her godly duties. Let
us honor our mothers today with more than a meal.
Let us honor them with a daily “attitude of honor” as well.