Honoring Authority: A Command with a Promise

Of all the ten commandments, one could make the argument that none is more offensive to 21st century sensibilities than the fifth. Especially when its broader implications towards ancestors, place, and all legitimate authority are taken into account, “Honor your father and your mother” seems blasphemous to the contemporary mind. In a society that blames all manner of ills on the deficiencies of our families of origin, we are called to honor our imperfect natural fathers as we would our heavenly Father—the Father who reigns over all (The Lord Is King) and gently cares for us (Praise, My Soul, The King Of Heaven). While our current milieu declares that everyone who lived before 1965 was wicked beyond imagining (or is that too early? 2015?), we are called to give thanks for the saints who followed the leading of the Lord in the past (God Of Our Fathers) and now rest from their labors (For All The Saints). When works of beauty are defaced, memorials are removed, and graves are desecrated, we are promised that “the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever” (Alleluia! How Blest The Man—Psalm 112). In a world of atomization and abstraction, we are given tangible promises: long life in a particular place (Exodus 20:12) and seeing our children’s children (Blest The Man Who Fears Jehovah—Psalm 128). As we move in our series from duties to God to our duties to our neighbor, I pray that the spirit will “teach us how to love each other” (Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee), beginning with those closest to us. —Henry C. Haffner