Number Five is Alive!

As a young child reared in the south, I was instructed to practice the habits of saying, "Yes, Ma'am or No, Sir." If an adult entered the room and there was not an open place for them to sit, a child relinquished their seat to the adult; considered common courtesy. To this day, I believe that is how it should be; the respectful course of action. Not many children or youth today are receiving such instruction and it is painfully obvious when you see them interact, not only with their parents, but also with all others.

Respect is not an old-fashioned concept to discard as archaic and obsolete. The Bible repeatedly addresses treating parents and elders respectfully. Regardless of your age, someone qualifies as your elder. Our country is center stage in the growing trend of ideologies that do not honor the people that paved the paths we walk today. Not only does that put us as a nation in shameful light but also magnifies how far removed we are from the foundational teachings of Judeo-Christianity.

You need only ask any teacher in a public school in this country and you hear horror tales of behaviors and practices in our youth. This situation did not blossom overnight. It has been simmering a long time; unlike a pasta sauce, this dilemma does not improve with simmering. Our teachers are highly restricted as to the discipline they can impose on the ugly, unruly students. Today's teachers are being attacked, cursed, and leered over by students. It all boils down to flagrant disrespect. At one time teaching was a noble profession. Now you need a Black Belt just to defend yourself.

The problem boils down to an epidemic of disrespect. It is not required and taught in the home so the plague washes over into our schools, government, and society as a whole. Students of the Bible can tell you how God dealt with disrespect. How many examples do you want? We have hundreds of them. Individuals, families, nations, and tribes were punished, sometimes wiped out completely when disrespect was allowed to run amuck. Do we never learn?

The scariest part of all this is that by not teaching and demanding respect in our homes we are raising generation after generation of educated barbarians. If the positions of father and mother do not require respect, is it likely THE Father will receive respect and honor? The fabric of today's families stained with over indulging our children and fostering the mentality of entitlement is fraying at the seams! Our culture put the wheels in motion when respect was replaced with every new hair-brained idea from some 'scholar' that decided our babies were being damaged by expecting anything from them; we were squashing their creative little minds if we dared set limits and imposed punishments for undesired behaviors.

God set limits and had expectations; punishing those who turned their backs on them. Worse yet, God allowed those walking in disobedience to wallow in the mire they created for themselves. See the pattern yet? Holy Scripture tells us that God loves us, therefore requires more from us. We need to love our children enough to do the same. Children learn what they live, they repeat what they hear, and become parents to pass on what they believe to be foundational principles. Proper respect needs to be high on the list of what they learn and take with them. Only when teaching and expecting respect in the parental home becomes the standard once more can it wash over the nation in a perpetual ripple effect. We have enough tails wagging the dogs already…congress is a fine example of that. With eyes wide open, we need to look at how respect is displayed in our homes. What we are leaving as a legacy for the future generations to inherit? Will honor and respect be counted among prized possessions?

Honoring father and mother is #5 of the Ten Commandments. Notice it is a commandment…not a suggestion. Are WE honoring our Father when we ignore His Word to train a child up in the way he should go? It is never too late to set boundaries and redirect behaviors toward respect and honor. The fifth commandment does not expire with age. Number Five is alive!