by Steven Bostick
“…for the time is at hand.” – Revelation 22:10b
We live in a day and age in which time is rapidly moving. Many of us have said, “There is not enough time in the day,” or, “Where has the time gone?” or, “Time flies when you are having fun!” All of us, if we have not at least used one of these phrases, have heard them said. Time is one of those things that continues, sometimes going fast and sometimes slowly. Let us look at some things about time. We all know how crucial time is, but what is its purpose?
It is time for children to obey and respect their parents.
In this day and time children talk to their parents in many ways. They are disrespectful, rude, and blatantly disobedient. I have heard kids cuss their parents, tell them “no,” argue with them, and have even heard of some causing bodily harm to them. This is wrong! In Exodus 20:12 it says, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” In Mark 10:19 it says, “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.” In Ephesians 6:1-2 it says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)” Even when we are grown adults with families and children of our own, we are to treat our parents with respect. Even though as the “child” we may be grown adults now, our parents are still our parents. Because we are to do what the Word of God says, our parents still deserve the same respect when we are grown as they did when we were small children. Nothing has changed other than our ages. The only difference is that we are all older.
It is time for parents to be parents.
I have heard other parents wonder aloud why their children do the things they do. They are only children. We may get frustrated with them, but they need us as parents to guide them in the right direction. We have people that are parents of children that really do not want to PARENT. Their train of thought is, “If they are out of my way and not bothering me, then everything is okay.” The kids then do something or make a decision that may not be the best decision; and the parents wonder why their children did what they did. If parents want to know what their children are doing, they themselves must turn off the TV, put down the cell phone, or close the laptop or iPad, and go see what their children are doing. Too many times, parents wonder where they went wrong when their children do wrong. I am here to say that it is time for parents to PARENT! It is time for parents to get up and parent by doing what it says in Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Fathers, it is our responsibility to make sure our children know about God. It is our job to make sure that our families have the proper provision. It is our job to have ourselves in the Lord’s house every time the doors are open, to teach our children and bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We cannot be parents with a remote in one hand and a cell phone in the other. Also, we do not have children to be our personal slaves. Understandably, our children are given things to do for us—and doing something every now and then is okay—but, to have them serving us on a regular basis is wrong. In addition, in the home it is not one child’s place to have to go retrieve or to administer punishment to another. If the child is doing something wrong, then we must get off our lazy hind parts, evaluate for ourselves, and give punishment if needed. While we are up, we should get that glass of tea that we wanted our child to fix for us.
When we act like parents and do the things we know are right, then we can be at peace knowing that, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” (III John 1:4)