Life Hack #17: Recognize, Respect, and Uphold

Life Hack #17:

Listen with respect to the father who raised you, and when your mother grows old, don’t neglect her. Buy truth—don’t sell it for love or money; buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight. Parents rejoice when their children turn out well; wise children become proud parents. So make your father happy! Make your mother proud! (Proverbs 23:22-25)

In today's culture, we might find that parents have become "chums" to their kids rather than parents. The move toward "befriending" the child has brought about a kind of disrespect which society sees manifest in a multitude of ways - everything from the simple rebellions of back talk, crossing boundaries with too much ease, disrespecting teachers at school, engaging in rebellious behaviors, and keeping wrong company. Parents have a role in raising their kids - more than just to put food on the table and clothes on their back - just as much as kids have a role in bringing respect and honor to their parents. That said, the two roles need to be recognized, respected, and upheld - by all parties.

When an individual becomes a parent, it is a lifelong endeavor - not easily ended at the age when the minor becomes an adult. Kids start out in this life acting like little leeches, hanging on for dear life to their parents, sucking the very life from them. As time goes on, they want nothing to do with their parents. It is a sad fact, but today's society often separates parents from children by not only miles, but also by the demands on one's time, energies, and abilities. In turn, kids end up missing out on the tremendous blessing of the wisdom of the parent and parents end up missing out on the awesome honor of seeing how their kids really function in this world.

We are not to be easily separated from the structure God provided for our overall well-being. Parents are to raise us in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, giving us a set of standards upon which we can base our life decisions and daily choices. Children are not only to listen to the wisdom they receive, but embrace it, and then replicate it in the lives of their own children. 

It is a circle of sorts, passing down from one generation to the next the foundation of loving God first, serving him with all your heart, and then living out that love in the other relationships you form in this world. We bring joy to our parents when we model good behavior, wise choices, and live as examples of Christ in this world. Honor is not something our parents owe us; it is something we owe to them. We bring it to them by the evidence of Christ-centered "foundational living" in our lives. Recognize each other - respect one another - uphold those relationships. They matter! Just sayin!