day 35: honor your parents

(apparently it happened again without me realizing it - you thought i slacked off and didn't blog yesterday? nope, for some reason it just didn't post. either i am losing it or someone is trying to tell me to stop blogging. again, a modified version.)

"for God said, 'honor your father and mother' and 'anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' but you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father' with it. thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition."

matthew 15:4-6

i was a bit confused upon reading these verse at first. what exactly did Jesus mean when he said "whatever help you might otherwise have received from me"? why is it now devoted to God? Jesus is speaking to the pharisees and scribes after their attempt to attack the disciples for breaking a tradition of washing their hands before eating bread. Jesus, as always, answers them wisely. he raises the issue of transgressing the commandment of God for the sake of their traditions. it is a reference to corban vows. a corban (meaning "offering") vow required one to dedicate money to God's temple - money that otherwise would have been given to support their parents. as Jesus points out, they were abusing a tradition. it had become a way to neglect parents. the action of giving money to God was of course worthy but many were ignoring God's command to care for their parents, to honor and obey them.

today we do not observe many of the traditions that the pharisees held so dear. but isn't to suggest that we perfectly follow God's commands either. corban vows have been replaced with lazyness and excuses. our pride and selfishness keep us from honoring our parents as we ought.

i don't think my parents ever expected me to be living with them at the age of twenty-nine (not that i expected this either). but they are loving and supportive. they are generous and caring. they continue to make sacrifices for my sake even now. i don't consider myself disobedient necessarily, but i don't think that i always honor them as i should.

"our motive for obeying should always be to glorify and honor God."

Lord, forgive me for being lazy and making excuses, for not honoring my parents as i should. thank you for parents who love me and have been the foundation of my faith in you. help me to love them better through honor and obedience.