There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers; — Proverbs 30:11
A healthy society needs healthy families. And families are healthy when children respect their parents. But again, there are plenty of commandments that aren’t in the Big Ten that we could say the same thing about. To take just one example, why isn’t giving charity to the poor in the Ten Commandments?
Respect for our parents is the key to many other traits and behaviors. This makes sense. Respect for parents is based, first and foremost, on gratitude. After all, our parents gave us the greatest gift of all—life itself.
A healthy sense of gratitude to our parents humbles us and makes us appreciate the sacrifices and struggles of those who came before us. But people who have no respect for earlier generations, who have no respect for where they came from, easily develop an inflated sense of their own self-worth.
Once this arrogant disregard for the past sets in, the moral fabric of society begins to crumble. Disdain for parents leads to disdain for faith, and disdain for the values that were taught to us.
On the other hand, respect and reverence for parents, grandparents, and all who struggled to get us to where we are, causes us to look compassionately on those who are struggling today for the futures of their own children and grandchildren.
Respect for parents is not only about family relationships—it’s the key to a healthy, godly, compassionate society.
