“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 NRSV
How early can you start teaching your children the ten commandments?
Kinsey (1 yr) has begun using Kinsey-language to communicate with me. Thus, our conversations normally sound like this:
Kinsey: (screaming) Ahhbaahda!
Me: (calmly) Really?
Kinsey: (even more emphatically now) Ahhbaahda!!
Me: (a little more frustrated) I’m not quite sure I understand sweetheart.
Kinsey: (bordering on crying, but really just yelling at me) Ahhbaahda!!!
Me: (with much more tone) Okay…what? Just show me…What?!?
Kinsey: (calmly and pointing to the cheetos) Ta.
At one year old, Kinsey doesn’t quite understand “Honor you mother and father.” Her tone with me borders on disrespect…if possible from a 1 year old. Yet I don’t know how and when you start teaching the proper manner of communication. She can only say 5 words!
I don’t remember this with Hallie. She was always very calm and lived in her own little world, but not Kinsey. Kinsey lives in everyone’s world and wants to interact in it right now in whatever fashion she chooses.
With Hallie (5 yrs) she understands respecting mom and dad. She understands this because she knows what gets taken away when she doesn’t do it. But teaching a 1 yr old is a little different. What am I going to take away? Her blanket? Any parent of a 1 yr old knows that is not a battle we’re willing to fight.
I wonder sometimes if we are the 1 yr old or the 5 yr old in respect to our parents as adults. While cognitively I know that they have wisdom beyond my years and deserve my respect, sometimes it is hard to get past my own desire for the cheeto.
I have the same wonder about our relationships with God. Again, I understand that God is much wiser and is worthy of my trust, but I just want the cheeto so badly.
So the commandment says those who honor their father and mother will live long in the land. The land was the symbol of living in the blessing of the Lord and thus those who follow the commandment would be among those blessed. I guess the same applies to my 1 yr and myself – honor our moms and dads and perhaps we’ll get to live in the blessing of having happy, rather than frustrated, parents. And perhaps honoring God will equate to the same.
