{"id":4625,"date":"2019-02-28T11:26:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T17:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4625"},"modified":"2019-02-28T11:26:40","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T17:26:40","slug":"the-generation-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/the-generation-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"The Generation Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part six of an eleven-part series on \u201cHabits of Highly Successful People\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Habit #6 \u2013 A Successful Person Understands the Importance of Family<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Kevin Riggs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark Twain is credited with\u00a0saying: “When l was a boy\u00a0of 14, my father was so ignorant\u00a0I could hardly stand\u00a0to have the old man\u00a0around. But when I got to be 21, I was\u00a0astonished at how much the old man\u00a0had learned in seven years.” \u00a0Ever\u00a0since the first child in history hit puberty,\u00a0there has been a generation gap<\/em>between parents and their offspring.\u00a0The older generation has always\u00a0thought the younger generation was\u00a0disrespectful, and the younger generation\u00a0has always looked at the older\u00a0generation as being out of touch.<\/p>\n

God bridged the gap between generations\u00a0when He commanded,\u00a0“Honor thy father and thy mother.” At\u00a0different stages in my life, my relationship\u00a0with my parents has changed.\u00a0One attitude that must never change,\u00a0however, is that of honor and respect.\u00a0Honor, not only for my parents, but also for the institution of marriage.<\/p>\n

The Fifth Commandment doesn’t\u00a0say, “Honor your parents if they did a\u00a0good job,” or “Honor your parents only\u00a0when you feel like it.” This Commandment\u00a0doesn’t even say, “Honor your parents\u00a0if they are Christians.” The reason\u00a0for the honor is wrapped up in the position\u00a0of parenthood, not in the quality of\u00a0the individual parent. \u00a0It is also important\u00a0to notice that God did not differentiate\u00a0between the father and the mother.\u00a0Both are equal; both deserve respect.<\/p>\n

The word “honor” comes from the\u00a0Hebrew verb meaning “to be heavy”\u00a0or “to carry weight.” The opposite of\u00a0honor is to treat something “lightly.”\u00a0The role of a parent deserves to be respected\u00a0and held in high esteem. To\u00a0disrespect parenthood is to treat it as\u00a0if it were light and worthless.<\/p>\n

Commandment Five carries a\u00a0promise: \u201c. . . that thy days may be\u00a0long upon the land which the Lord\u00a0thy God giveth thee.” What does this\u00a0promise mean? How can honoring\u00a0my parents prolong my life?<\/p>\n

First of all, if I honor my parents, my\u00a0quality<\/em>of life is better. My parents were\u00a0not perfect, but neither was I the perfect\u00a0child. My parents did give me the gift of\u00a0life, and I believe my life is more enjoyable\u00a0because I chose to honor them instead\u00a0of showing them disrespect.<\/p>\n

Second, by honoring my parents, my\u00a0emotional stability<\/em>increases. Moses repeated this command, saying, “Honor\u00a0thy father and thy mother, as the Lord\u00a0thy God hath commanded thee: that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee.\u201d<\/p>\n

If I cut myself off from my parents, remaining\u00a0bitter towards them, I cut myself\u00a0off from a full life. Furthermore, it is\u00a0within the context of a family that I have\u00a0the chance to learn, grow and build relationships.\u00a0All of which helps me live a\u00a0healthy, stable life, the meaning behind,\u00a0“that it may go well with thee.”<\/p>\n

Habit #5<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Fifth Commandment exhorts\u00a0me to honor my parents, but the fifth habit goes beyond doing that alone. The\u00a0fifth habit is as follows: A highly successful\u00a0person understands the importance\u00a0of family.<\/em>How important is the family? I\u00a0believe my family comes above everything\u00a0except my relationship with God.<\/p>\n

My family is more important than my\u00a0career goals, my church, my financial\u00a0achievements, my volunteer activities\u00a0and my personal happiness. For me to\u00a0understand the importance of family\u00a0means that I must understand and accept\u00a0the roles God has given each family\u00a0member, especially my own.<\/p>\n

Husbands Love <\/strong><\/p>\n

Within the family, my role as a husband\u00a0is to show unconditional, sacrificial\u00a0love to my wife. I am to love her as\u00a0Christ loved the Church. That means I\u00a0should never refer to my wife in derogatory\u00a0terms. It also means I should never\u00a0blame my wife for my failures, saying, “If\u00a0you would just show me more support,\u00a0then . . . .” Christ never called the Church\u00a0names, and He never blamed her,\u00a0even though she was far from perfect.<\/p>\n

To love my wife as Christ loves the\u00a0Church means I defend her at all costs.\u00a0It means I build her up, protect her reputation, and defend her honor and integrity.\u00a0To love her as Christ loves the\u00a0Church means I am willing to die for\u00a0her, sacrificing everything. To understand\u00a0the importance of family, I must\u00a0accept my role in that family.<\/p>\n

Wives Submit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Biblical submission has nothing to do\u00a0with superiority or inferiority. \u00a0In fact, the\u00a0Fifth Commandment suggests equality\u00a0between sexes and between parents.\u00a0Furthermore, to submit does not mean\u00a0a woman remains in a situation where\u00a0there is physical danger or where she is\u00a0asked to do immoral things.<\/p>\n

To submit does mean, for the sake of\u00a0family unity, that a wife voluntarily places\u00a0herself under the leadership of her\u00a0husband. It means she supports him,\u00a0refusing to tear him down\u2014especially\u00a0in front of the children. The reason the\u00a0wife is asked to submit is because the\u00a0main responsibility for the health and\u00a0welfare of the family rests on the husband’s\u00a0shoulders. When the husband\u00a0fulfills his role in the home, then submission is not an issue, but a privilege.<\/p>\n

Children Obey<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ephesians 6:1 says, “Children obey\u00a0your parents . . . .” The idea behind\u00a0“children” refers to all dependents living\u00a0at home, regardless of age. The\u00a0principle is simple: If your parents pay\u00a0your bills, you are obligated to obey\u00a0them. A child does not obey his parents\u00a0because they are perfect or because\u00a0they know more. They are to\u00a0obey because that is how they show\u00a0honor, and that is how they show their\u00a0commitment to Christ.<\/p>\n

Parents Honored <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Fifth Commandment encompasses\u00a0two truths. First, parents are to\u00a0be honored<\/em>. Second, parents are to\u00a0be honorable<\/em>. As a parent, I cannot\u00a0force<\/em>my children to honor<\/em>me, but I\u00a0can make<\/em>them hate<\/em>me. Thus, the\u00a0Fifth Commandment is as much for\u00a0me as a parent as it is for my children.\u00a0I must continually ask myself, “Am I\u00a0parenting in such a way that my children\u00a0can honor me?”<\/p>\n

God gave me the responsibility of\u00a0raising my children. Therefore I am accountable\u00a0to God for how I raise them,\u00a0a thought that scares me. I must confess\u00a0that I don\u2019t know how to be a parent. \u00a0But\u00a0one thing I do know\u2014l want to parent\u00a0in such a way that my children will desire\u00a0to honor me. At the very least, I\u00a0don’t want to parent in such a way that\u00a0gives them reasons to dishonor me.<\/p>\n

Being a good parent starts with my\u00a0relationship with my Heavenly Father\u00a0and continues with my relationship to\u00a0my own parents. That is why my obedience\u00a0to the Fifth Commandment is\u00a0so important.<\/p>\n

What about you? When was the last\u00a0time you showed your parents honor?\u00a0Have you accepted your God-given\u00a0role in the family? Do you need to ask\u00a0forgiveness for harmful things you\u00a0have said and done in the past? Do you\u00a0need to reach out to your parents, reconnecting\u00a0with them? Do you need to\u00a0accept your role in yow family?<\/p>\n

Have you allowed other things to\u00a0come before your family? Are you a\u00a0loving husband? A submissive wife?\u00a0An obedient child? An honorable parent?\u00a0Do you need to apologize to your\u00a0spouse and children? Do you need to\u00a0pray, recommitting your family to\u00a0God? If I ask your spouse and children\u00a0if they think you are a success,\u00a0how will they answer?\u00a0Remember, a highly successful\u00a0person understands the importance\u00a0of family.<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact<\/em>magazine, June 2002.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part six of an eleven-part series on \u201cHabits of Highly Successful People\u201d Habit #6 \u2013 A Successful Person Understands the Importance of Family By Kevin Riggs Mark Twain is credited with\u00a0saying: “When l was a boy\u00a0of 14, my father was so ignorant\u00a0I could hardly stand\u00a0to have the old man\u00a0around. But when I got to be 21, I was\u00a0astonished at how much the old man\u00a0had learned in seven years.” \u00a0Ever\u00a0since the first child in history hit puberty,\u00a0there has been a generation gapbetween parents and their offspring.\u00a0The older generation has always\u00a0thought the younger generation was\u00a0disrespectful, and the younger generation\u00a0has always looked at the older\u00a0generation as being out of touch. God bridged the gap between generations\u00a0when He commanded,\u00a0“Honor thy father and thy mother.” At\u00a0different stages in my life, my relationship\u00a0with my parents has changed.\u00a0One attitude that must never change,\u00a0however, is that of honor and respect.\u00a0Honor, not only for my parents, but also for the institution of marriage. The Fifth Commandment doesn’t\u00a0say, “Honor your parents if they did a\u00a0good job,” or “Honor your parents only\u00a0when you feel like it.” This Commandment\u00a0doesn’t even say, “Honor your parents\u00a0if they are Christians.” The reason\u00a0for the honor is wrapped up in the position\u00a0of parenthood, not in the quality […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4625"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4626,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4625\/revisions\/4626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}