Honor thy father and thy mother... (Jesus, bless, mercy, married)
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that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
How do you interpret this?
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Originally Posted by Katzpur
I'm starting to think nobody is understanding my question, and that's very frustrating to me. I know what it means to honor your parents.
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Originally Posted by Katzpur
But seriously, is this scripture saying that if we honor our parents, we'll have a long life? To me, it sounds like it is, and I'm afraid I really don't see the correlation between how a person respects his parents and how long he is likely to live.
And to reiterate... I know what it means to honor one's parents. That is not my question. My question is, how does the second half of the statement (that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee) tie to the first? Is a long life somehow tied to the degree to which we honor our parents? Is that what the scripture is saying.
Please don't anybody else tell me what it means to honor your father and mother and that it's important that we do so. I'm tired of getting answers to a question I didn't ask.
And to reiterate... I know what it means to honor one's parents. That is not my question. My question is, how does the second half of the statement (that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee) tie to the first? Is a long life somehow tied to the degree to which we honor our parents? Is that what the scripture is saying.
Please don't anybody else tell me what it means to honor your father and mother and that it's important that we do so. I'm tired of getting answers to a question I didn't ask.
A little bit frustrated, eh?
It seems that the part of the verse you are referring to DOES mean you will have a longer life. I am not familiar enough (yet) with The Bible, to know if that verse should be taken literally, or if it is meant figuratively in some way.
I know your focused on the second half and what it means. I see it's important to you, but maybe the reason so many people are focused on the first half is because, regardless of the exact promise in the second half, the bottom line is, you follow the first half (honor your parents) then the second half, whatever it means will be determined.
However you interpret the second half, I think the bottom line is, if you honor your parents "good things" will happen to you, if you don't, then "bad things" will happen to you.
Did I at least somewhat reply to your question?
Now, I'd like to ask another question, if that's okay.
Does this "honor your parents" apply to abusive parents as well as good parents? I know a lot of people struggle with that at different times in their lives and in different ways.
[quote=looking4answers12;22420941]A little bit frustrated, eh?
It seems that the part of the verse you are referring to DOES mean you will have a longer life. I am not familiar enough (yet) with The Bible, to know if that verse should be taken literally, or if it is meant figuratively in some way.
I know your focused on the second half and what it means. I see it's important to you, but maybe the reason so many people are focused on the first half is because, regardless of the exact promise in the second half, the bottom line is, you follow the first half (honor your parents) then the second half, whatever it means will be determined.
However you interpret the second half, I think the bottom line is, if you honor your parents "good things" will happen to you, if you don't, then "bad things" will happen to you.
Did I at least somewhat reply to your question? [/quopte]You definitely did. Thank you. Finally! Like me, you don't seem to know how literally the promise should be taken, but at least you understood the question.
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Now, I'd like to ask another question, if that's okay.
Does this "honor your parents" apply to abusive parents as well as good parents? I know a lot of people struggle with that at different times in their lives and in different ways.
That's an even harder question than mine was. I can't even imagine having abusive parents, so that's one I haven't got the experience to view objectively.
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Is this thread almost 2 years old?
Yes, but somebody (not me) resurrected it a few days ago.
Er, uh.....I know this thread is old but I still think it's very relevant and worth replying to. I may not believe in the bible any longer but as I saw it when I did believe, the last part means you literally get a longer life by "honoring" your parents. I see some interpret it to mean something else entirely, but I believe this is one instance where it's to be taken literally.
I struggled with this a lot when I was a Christian because I have a very abusive father but after many years and a final confrontation I realized that I could not and should not have a relationship with him. I also came to understand that that was perfectly ok, I WAS honoring him by staying away from him and that god would never want me to be so emotionally distraught over it.
"Honoring" can mean a multitude of things, and I began to see that I could honor my father by not speaking ill of him and not arguing with him. The best way to do that is to not have a relationship with him. So I don't and haven't for 11 years now.
I have a great Mother and I put all of my energy into honoring her instead. It's taken a very long time to get past the hurt of not being able to talk to or see my Dad, especially since he's getting older and has prostate cancer. But sometimes we have to do what is physically, emotionally and psychologically best for ourselves and remove toxic people from our lives, family or not. I've written to him and told him that if he needed someone to take care of him I would do that and I feel that I have met all the criteria for honoring him as it relates to the bible. Like I said I am no longer a believer, but if I were I would be quite satisfied and would be expected to be rewarded with a long life.
Ilene, your father should have married my mother, and your mother my father!
You wrote:
Quote:
I have a great Mother and I put all of my energy into honoring her instead. It's taken a very long time to get past the hurt of not being able to talk to or see my Dad, especially since he's getting older and has prostate cancer. But sometimes we have to do what is physically, emotionally and psychologically best for ourselves and remove toxic people from our lives, family or not. I've written to him and told him that if he needed someone to take care of him I would do that and I feel that I have met all the criteria for honoring him as it relates to the bible. Like I said I am no longer a believer, but if I were I would be quite satisfied and would be expected to be rewarded with a long life.
As a believer, I have struggled with this problem. I have learned to honor because she let me live. She could have done otherwise. But she let me live, and I am grateful. Now, I am learning to honor her with my words and thoughts -- as you already know, not always easy.
Ilene, your father should have married my mother, and your mother my father!
You wrote:
As a believer, I have struggled with this problem. I have learned to honor because she let me live. She could have done otherwise. But she let me live, and I am grateful. Now, I am learning to honor her with my words and thoughts -- as you already know, not always easy.
She let you live???!!! Dang, guess that's one way to look at it. I really thought my Dad was going to kill me too, several times. Sorry you had/have such a terrible mother, but I sure can relate.
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I know what it means to honor your parents.
Dang, guess that's one way to look at it. I really thought my Dad was going to kill me too, several times. Sorry you had/have such a terrible mother, but I sure can relate.
