A Firm Foundation

”Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.“ (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭12‬)

Within the walls of every home, there are pieces of wood and steel quietly and faithfully doing their jobs. Beneath every floor, slabs of concrete hold the entire structure level and hardly ever get a second thought. Aside from some great catastrophe, we may never see them.

These supports will remain hidden.

But if they begin to falter, the effects will not. Cracks begin to appear and spread. Gradually there are windows that won’t open, and doors that won’t shut. Floors and walls become uneven. An eroding foundation disorders everything that is built upon it.

God laid the foundation for our earthly relationships in the Fifth Commandment to honor our parents. From childhood onward, our choice to submit or rebel determines the integrity of the lives we build.

Our response to this foundational command is like the unseen foundations of a home in two ways.

Firstly, because the inner workings of our family dynamics are often private, rather than public. The level of respect with which we speak to our parents or about them may not be widely known. Conversations within the walls of a living room or in a text message thread may never show up on social media. Our response within family conflicts may never be shared. But our choice of honor or dishonor will be revealed by the stability of our lives or the chaos of our lives. There is no hidden dishonor. It always shows up somewhere.

Secondly, because there is an element of honor that must be in the heart. Honor is expressed outwardly, but must also be chosen inwardly. Both components must be present. Jesus condemned the Pharisees who honored God “with their lips”, and yet did the opposite in their hearts. It is good to show honor with our words, but it is truly honor when it’s in our thoughts too. Honor cannot just be found in what we do, but must also be in our motive for doing it.

Our Pastor summarized it so well: “The life of honor is the pathway toward the life of blessing.”

God has given us the blueprint for the blessed life. Honor is the foundation. May we choose every day to build on it.