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Honour Your Parents - Exodus 20:12  

We all know the command.  "Honor your father and mother so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you". (Exodus 20:12)  What we don't seem to know is what this command means.  This command presupposes that the generation of parents to be honored is worthy of the honor.  The wealth of knowledge they pass on to their children provides the foundation for the next generation's good social well being.  When disrespect trumps honor, children learn the hard way, if they learn at all. 

 

The command doesn't say that if a child honors his parents he'll live a long life.  The command uses the pronoun "you", which in context is "you plural".  The command is directed to a generation of children.

 

The command also speaks of land God gives the generation of children who honors the previous generation.  The generation who honors their parents will inherit a land and a social structure that lives through time and beyond.  It's not a matter of a child living a long healthy life.  It's a matter of a generation living a long and healthy life in a land blessed by God.    

 

When there is no honor or respect for the prior generation, life's lessons concerning family and society aren't learned.  The resulting broken families with broken children provide the atmosphere for gun violence, sexual promiscuity, and all the rest, according to the Biblical command.     

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