To Bless, not Curse – Fifth Commandment

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To Bless, not Curse

Exodus 20:12; 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 the LORD your God is giving you.”

Exodus 22:28

“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.”

Always Seek the Way of Blessing

In the fifth commandment are contained all the principles of civic order and deference. The honor and respect we are to show to our parents develops in us the ability to recognize proper authority in other spheres and to honor it accordingly. Beyond our parents, honor is due to the civil magistrate, as one entrusted by God with the duty of ruling over his people for good (Rom. 13.1-4). We may not agree with the magistrate in all his decisions and policies, but we must always seek the blessing of the Lord for him. We are not free to curse, for example, our President. If the displeasure of God is to fall upon his administration, that will be because he himself has brought down the curses of God on his own head. Our desire must be to try by all means available to us to avert that disaster. We must seek the blessing of God on our President, and all those who serve in the public trust, for in their blessing will be our blessing. To the extent that they rule over us unto good, we will know the blessing and favor of God and His work will flourish in our land. So we must be very careful of sinning against the magistrates of the land. Seek the blessing of God on our government, and devote yourself to making this part of your daily labor as a citizen of God’s Kingdom.

As you think about the President today, how might you pray for him?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is 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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

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