A recent survey said that barely 50% of American people believe it is the children’s responsibility to look after their parents!

Last week I was getting ready to fly home from Charlotte, N.C. when I got a message from my wife (Diane) that her dad (Alfio or Al) was going to come and stay with us for a while. I got excited! Al lives in Oceanside, CA and we don’t get to see him as often as we used to when he lived closer. He will turn 89 next month so every visit is precious. After he arrived we realized he was having some pretty severe breathing problems. We monitored it closely and then at about midnight on Sunday it got worse and we needed to take him to the ER. We ended up staying up with him the whole night in two different hospitals as doctors ran a myriad of tests and gave him medications to alleviate the symptoms. He came back to our house on Monday evening and is doing much better now. Praise the Lord! Although we were exhausted we were so glad that we were able to be there for him.

God’s Word is very clear that we are to “HONOR” our parents (Ex. 20:12; Eph. 6:1-3). That does not stop when we move out of the house but continues on for their entire lifetime! The word honor literally means to be “heavy” and when applied to our parents means to “give our parents the weight of respect.”  The Old Testament used this word in several ways:  a) Prize them highly (Prov. 4:8); b) Care for them and show affection (Ps. 91:15); c) Show them respect, reverence, and deference (Lev. 19:3). 

One profound way to honor our parents is to take care of them when they get older (Mt. 15; Mk. 7; 1 Tim. 5:1-16).  The Lord Jesus took care of His mother prior to His death (John 19:26-27).  We should take care of our elderly parents!  Prov. 23:22 tells us not to despise our mother when she is old (see also Mt. 15:3-6).  A recent survey said that barely 50% of American people believe it is the children’s responsibility to look after their parents!  How sad!  We murder millions of babies when they are in the womb because they are “unwanted pregnancies,” what will keep this same generation from killing off the unwanted old people?  Christians should lead the way in sacrificing for their elderly relatives!  We should be spending much of our time, energy & finances in a sacrificial way to HONOR those who sacrificed so much for us in our early years!

1 Timothy 5:8 (in the middle of a passage about widows) says, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (NASB95) The word “if” could be translated “since” and points to the fact that it was happening in Ephesus and needed to be corrected! 

What is your plan for your parents when they get older? Are you preparing to sacrificially love them and give to them in their time of need? Of course it will cost you a lot of time and money, but oh what a privilege!!! 

By the way, your children are watching and learning from your example…

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