By the Way We Live – The Fifth Commandment

By the Way We Live

The Fifth Commandment

Exodus 20:12

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

Deuteronomy 5:16

“‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.’”

Finally, in these introductory comments on the fifth commandment and its related statutes and rules, we must recognize that perhaps the best way we honor our parents, and all those whom we are called to love and serve, is when we live in such a way as to reflect praise and honor on them in the eyes of others. When children make their parents proud because of some good work or deed they have accomplished, they are honoring their parents. When others find pleasure or joy, or take pride in us as their friends, church members, or members of their community, we are showing them a form of honor.

By contrast, when our lives bring shame, disgrace, or disappointment to those we are called to honor, we fail in our calling to love and serve them as the fifth commandment requires. Thus by our lives at all times, not merely when we are with our parents or others, we must work diligently to bring honor on those whom God has place in our lives as the objects of our respect, service, and love.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet) .

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version , (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.