SCRIP-BITS

Proverbs 30:11.    There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
 
Oh Friends, more mysterious workings of our God, right off the bat! After writing the Bit, I usually remove all the bookmarks marking the passages I’ve quoted. Somehow though, yesterday I forgot to remove the special one marking the current Bit and found it still marking yesterday’s, Proverbs 29:16. So, the opportunist that I am, I decided to scan the opened pages for something worthwhile. Oh Friends, a few seconds later my eyes collided with these words of Augur: ‘There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.’ And something inside of me suddenly went ‘Wow! That’s this generation he’s talking about!’ And after a split second’s contemplation, I knew that those challenging words were meant to be Today’s Bit. Oh my people, if we’re truthful, we’ll all agree that this generation has the least respect for their parents than any that’s ever gone before. And again, if we’re truthful, we’ll acknowledge that a large portion of the blame for this outrageous, ungodly behaviour lies with us, the parents. That’s because we never taught them to honour and respect their parents as the Good Book dictates. Please note that holding parents in esteem was so important in our God’s eyes that he made it one of the original Ten Commandments. ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Ex.20:12) Yes Friends, it’s right there in glorious black and white! But note also, the admonition unto parents: ‘And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.’ (Deut.6:6-7) Obviously my people, we haven’t done as the Good Book says, for if we’d taught them diligently and spoken the Word in all our daily doings, our children would not have strayed as far from it as they have. Oh Friends, unfortunately, because of this serious downfall on our part, I’ve heard of children actually cursing their parents; directing the f-word and many other unpleasant ones to their parents faces. That truly saddens me, but the fact is if we hadn’t made life so easy for them, without teaching them the real respect, honour, appreciation and responsibility that they owe to their parents, it wouldn’t be as bad as it is. Granted, on individual merit, many parents don’t deserve the accolades due to parents, but this in no way lessens the children’s responsibility. A Christian child ought to honour their parents regardless of the circumstances. As the old people would say; if you raise a child right, they usually stay right. At least they know the difference between right and wrong. Sadly though, many of this generation don’t have a clue as to what’s really right or wrong. They simply hold on to whatever they, their friends or the ungodly world says is right. I heard about this son, sitting beside his father’s bed in the hospital, I’m not sure if the father was actually dying or just very ill, but instead of reaching out to his father, this son and his greedy lawyer were already making plans to carve up the father’s estate. Ah Lord eh! I also heard about this daughter who never visited or paid any attention to her elderly parents, but when the parents took an extended Florida vacation, she was quick to lambaste them for spending her inheritance. The gall and ‘boldfaceness’ of some of these children eh! And that’s a true story, shared with me by the sister of the same obnoxious ingrate. Oh mih people, what’s going to become of the next generation of children eh, if this one is so disrespectful? I shudder to think that they can be any worse, but if you look around, you’ll notice that the young ones are indeed more disrespectful than their parents. Enough of me though, let’s hear what the Good Book has to say on the subject. And in the law concerning acts of violence, Moses stipulates: ‘And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.’ (Ex.21:17) Yuh see people, cursing your parents was considered such a serious matter back then, that it was judged worthy of an automatic death sentence. Leviticus expands on it: ‘For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.’ (Lev.20:9) And Cousin Sol ominously declares: ‘Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure (deep) darkness.’ (Prov.20:20) And whenever possible Friends, we like to close with the definitive word of Jesus on a topic. Hear Him lambaste the hypocrite scribes and Pharisees on this one, as he talks about the things that defile a man. ‘And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death (be put to death). But ye say, if a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say a gift (dedicated to the temple), by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer (allow) him no more to do aught (anything) for his father or his mother. Making the word of God of none (no) effect through your tradition which ye have delivered (handed down): and many such like things do ye.’ (Mark 7:9-13) Yes my people, the ole crooks managed to legally worm their way out of supporting their parents. Please, let’s not follow their unrighteous example. Oh Friends, though we’ve made such a sinful mess of this generation, and it might be a tad late to reclaim them, I’m imploring us to let’s work diligently and prayerfully to avoid the same thing happening to the next one. We certainly don’t need the downfall of that one on our conscience too. So start teaching your grandchildren, RIGHT NOW, about honour and respect for their parents, even if they don’t deserve it. That’s the only way the Lord’s word will take fruitful root in their hearts. Till tomorrow when we meet again, God in favour, go safely with Him. Much LOVE!…a parents’ most important job…teach their children the Word…