"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

To Whom Among Men is Honor Due?

All Authorities

It should be reasonably clear that this honor and respect is not due solely to God and parents. As with the other commandments, we are given here the most obvious and concise example as the definition of what God expects in all similar cases. Honor and respect are due to every authority for the very same reason they are due to the parent: because God has appointed them as deputies of His own supreme power of authority.

Pr 8:14-16
14 "Counsel is Mine and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, power is Mine.
15 "By Me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 "By Me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly."

Scripture is clear that God puts those in authority in their positions. Who are we, then, to declare their worth? This is why we ought rather to pray for those authorities we don't quite agree with (and those we agree with thoroughly, too.) God has placed them, and He has His reasons for doing so. If His chosen authority seems to be operating improperly, we can but pray that said person will hear God more clearly, and that we, too, might more clearly see what God is doing in the situation. After all, it may just as easily be us that needs to change course.

Ro 13:1-7
1 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil. 5 Wherefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Here it is again. Every authority is established by God. Every authority is a minister of God. The worst president we've ever had remained a minister of God, in place by His appointment. There may well be a movement to establish a new world order, but the only order that will be established is that appointed by God for His purpose. This is not to suggest, by any stretch, that every one established in authority sees himself as a servant of God, nor that every one that does see himself so is fulfilling that role perfectly. God has used the most unlikely of rulers to fulfill His purposes, and often it has happened that these purposes were at odds with the ruler's own purposes. Yet, God's will is done. Willingly or unwillingly, God's will is done.

The Cost of Questioning Authority

In this age, we are seeing what occurs when this honoring of authority is lost. It began to be manifest in my generation (although I suspect it was evident before then, too.) In that generation came an almost total rejection of the previous generation's standards, an almost total disregard for the authority of the state, an almost total disrespect for any person of position. "Question Authority" was the rule of the day, and has remained a rule ever since.

Now we have a generation raised by parents who don't respect authority, and effectively have no authority themselves, at least as far as they and their children are concerned. Now we have children who will curse loudly and proudly on the lawns of their homes without so much as a cross look from the parents. We have schools gone out of control, we have entire government systems set up to help the parents shirk the responsibilities of being in the position of authority. The results have not been pretty. Look, too, to the political arena, where the fallout has been an almost total disinterest in who gets into office. And character seems no longer to matter, as long as the money's good.

God help us. Help us to re-establish proper respect for our parents and elders first in ourselves. Help us, Lord, to teach that respect to our children, to model that respect to our children, to demand and require that respect of ourselves and our children. Lord, this commandment is such an integral part of Your moral compass for our lives - it is a necessity if we are to live long and prosper in the land You have given us. It is a requisite for life in Your kingdom.

If we can't respect the authorities we can see here, how then will we respect Your authority when we can't see You?

Father, we are a nation of rebels, we were founded in rebellion, and we've reveled in it and celebrated it ever since. Help us, Lord, personally, and nationally, to set aside our rebellious nature and accept Your authority once more.

The Widest Application

Ro 13:7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Look again at Paul's instruction. Every man is to have his due. This is the true application of the commandment we have before us. Every man is worthy of honor. Again, every man, every woman, every child, is created in God's image, and God's image is worthy of honor for it reflects Him whose image it is. This is what it's all about. Just as the remainder of the first table of the Law expands on the first commandment to love God with all our hearts, the remainder of the second table of the Law will be seen to expand on this fundamental rule: honor and respect are due to everyone.

Jesus summed this up in the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. We will gladly honor ourselves. We all too often revere ourselves, and are willing to do whatever pleases us. God asks us to set aside this self-focus, and focus that desire to please, that desire to do good, on those around us.

Honor and respect are as due to the child as to the parent! Today, we hear an awful lot about children's rights. If we were to walk in accord with God's plan, there would be no reason to worry about children's rights. Face it. In God's economy, we none of us have rights. We gave any perceived rights of ours away when we submitted to God's authority. By His authority, He commands us to love, honor, and respect those He gives us charge over, even as He has commanded us to honor and respect those He has given charge over us.

In Christ, there is neither male nor female, neither slave nor free, but Christ is all, and in all (Col 3:11). There is neither child nor parent. Christ is all, and in all. He is as much present in the child as in the parent, for both child and parent are created in His image.

Conclusion

From the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

• The fifth commandment requires the preserving the honor, and performing the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals.
• The fifth commandment forbids the neglecting of, or doing anything against, the honor and duty which belongs to everyone in their several places and relations.
• The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is, a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment.

From Calvin's Institutes:

The commandment indicates that we ought to give due reverence, respect and obedience to all to whom we are legally subject. This is true from parents through presidents for the same reason: they are appointed by God, and share His titles by degree. Reverence, obedience, and gratefulness are due to all authorities, regardless of their performance, for their position is decreed by God.

The promised blessing is for long life in the land - for the land (being created by God) is a blessing to live in - as a symbol of God's kindness to us. When a godly life is cut short, God's kindness has not failed, but rather moved on to the even greater blessings awaiting us through death. God's threat ensures that those whose disobedience is not punished by natural authorities will be properly judged by Himself, and we often see the results of this judgment in such lives. It is to be noted that the obedience called for in this commandment is to be "in the Lord." An authority that demands our breaking with God's law is no longer to be an authority to us.

The Other Side of the Coin

Mk 10:42-43
42 "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 "But it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;"

This applies to parenting. This applies equally to every position of authority we are ever entrusted with. Every position of authority is established by God. It is established to serve those over whom authority is exercised. As a parent, our primary concern is to be the welfare of our children. As supervisors in the workplace, our primary concern is not to preserve our own hide, but to look after the welfare of those we supervise. As ministers in the house of God, our primary concern must be for the souls of those to whom we minister.

This does not mean we satisfy their every desire. To serve is not always to please. The best service we can give is defined in the love God has for us, in agape love. This is the love that is selfless. This is the love that is not looking for gratification in reward. This is the love that is more concerned with doing what is best for the loved one, rather than simply giving the loved one what is pleasing in their sight.

Thanks be to God that He rarely gives us what we want. He is far more generous and loving than that! He gives us what we truly need to know true happiness. He gave us Christ when we did not want Him, and oh! How we've come to see the need we always had for Him! He continues to answer our prayers not always according to the wording of our request, but ever in the ways that best fulfill the need behind our request.

This is the way we show ourselves honorable in positions of authority, by following the example God has set us in Christ. This is how we show honor to all men. It is how we give to each one what they deserve from us. What respect do we show by allowing those we know to continue in their unsaved state? How is it respectful to leave a drowning man in the ocean? They deserve better.

Honor works both ways. God has made this plain to us. If we would honor Him, we must honor those He has appointed. If we would honor Him, we must handle His appointments honorably. We cannot help but reflect Him as creations made in His image. We can and must choose to reflect Him in our actions and thoughts as well. A living sacrifice can do no less.