The Fifth Commandment

Exodus 20:12 (NKJV) "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Deuteronomy 5:16 (NKJV) 'Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. The fifth commandment is a law demanding us to bring honor to our parents; but it also offers the promise of a reward if we are obedient. The blessing of obedience is a long and prosperous life. What makes the two versions of the fifth commandment essentially the same is that a long life without spiritual and/or material prosperity is not a blessing. With this law we have moved from our duty towards God to our relationships toward each other. To put this into the context of the New Testament we now love our neighbor as we love ourselves in addition to loving God. Also note the ideals of honor and love are both heartfelt attitudes and are therefore parallel to the first commandment of having no other gods. Honoring is a work of the heart rather than an act of a dutiful mind and is in a general sense anathema in our modern culture. Today we struggle with honoring our parents and often refuse to honor others who are in authority over us. We tend to be an autonomous people who cherish our independence and demand our rights of free will. When anyone denies our free will we object, rebel, and often refuse to comply. We see this in the situation involving the Bureau of Land Management and the Bundy cattle ranch (More on this later). So, what does it mean to honor our father and mother? What is the scope of the command? Why is it a sin not to honor our superiors?

Honoring your parents means to take them seriously and to give weight to what they say and do. This is characterized by different actions at different times of our lives. When we are 4 years old we live in obedience; when we are a teen we obey with a smile; when we are 24 we should listen to their council; when we are 34 we are to keep in touch and remain part of their life; and finally when we are 44 honoring is caring for both health, spiritual and material needs.

Calvin decides to honor his dad by honoring the authority of the babysitter. The scope of honoring is broadened by John Frame to include all those superior to us. This includes authorities in our work, government, and church. This is mandated in the NT; Romans 13 and 1 Peter2. The substance of these passages is to submit to Gods ordained rightful authorities. Proper authorities are to commend those who do good and punish those who do evil. The caveat is in honoring morally good leaders and laws. This is spelled out when Peter refused to obey the Pharisees as they demanded he stopped preaching the gospel. Now, what about Bundy and BLM issue? Is Bundy right or is the BLM right. First Bundy has violated the law by not paying the grazing fees which are being paid by other ranchers using federal land. The BLM was wrong when they used helicopters to herd the cows which resulted in killing the cattle. Friends of Bundy are wrong when they protested while carrying weapons. Both Bundy and the BLM should be using the courts to exhaust all possible means to settle the situation. When there are no more appeals to be made then one side or the other has to obey the law. This is honoring those in authority and the law placed there by God. But, I feel there is much more behind this story than meets the eye. When something escalates to this level of civil disobedience it can easily become a dangerous confrontation. When we ignore the law we make a loud and clear statement that we are not honoring those in authority. Since scripture is clear in saying all authority is ordained by God it also puts the disobedient in a sinful situation; because dishonoring anything God ordains is undoubtedly a sin. However, wearing a badge does not make right anything an official decides to do; because those who work in government are under the same obligation as the citizenry to obey the law and honor those in authority. In a democracy the ultimate authority is the citizen; but we hold this authority at the ballet box and not at the end of a gun.

Everyone wants to be their own supervisor, never having to respond to others in authority; but this is not the way a civilized society works. But more importantly ordained authority is the way God intends it to be; it is through our respect for earthly authority we learn respect and honor for God. When we no longer honor authority we live in a state of chaos and anarchy which ultimately results in the tyranny of authority. When we no longer honor God we become antinomian living in total sin and debauchery. Honoring God and authorities are inseparably linked and demands obedience if we are to live long and prosper.

Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.
Gregg
I would like to thank Dr. Dan Doriani and Covenant Theological Seminary for making the course, Christian Ethics, freely available at: http://www.covenantseminary.edu/resources/courses/christian-ethics-doriani/