2nd Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.
The history of disrespect can be traced right back to Cain, who introduced the habit of answering back in an inappropriate manner to the world. Not only did he introduce disrespect, he also introduced murder, rebellion, alienation, jealousy, family feuds between siblings, atheism, city dwelling, and his children who were born unto him stand at the head of alternative marriage, by introducing the practice of polygamy.
Since that time, disrespect to parents, to God, to all governments, preachers, elders, teachers and police and those to whom God has delegated authority is shown, indulged, encouraged and in some instances the disrespect has even gone viral.
Thus, Cain stands at the head of all disrespect that we see taking place today, for like every other sin, it produces a trickle-down effect in all who choose to walk in his footsteps. Let’s read:
Genesis 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
Not only did Cain introduce all the aforementioned evils, he is the one who introduced the disposition to accuse God of unfair punishment, of injustice, of malpractice, a disposition which is too often echoed in our day by those who in their heart of hearts may hate God, or, who may otherwise disagree with His assessments and judgments.
Whenever the question is asked, “Where was God in such and such tragedy” there you have echoes of the past in which Cain declared that the results of his actions were unfair and there are reverberations even in our day to that mode of thought. Let’s read:
Genesis 4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that finds me shall slay me.
Thus, Cain set into motion a host of evils that have haunted the human family for centuries, and as we approach earth’s final climax, the problems will only become more severe and difficult to deal with, in so much that God saw fit to include the issue of godly training as one of the areas we will need to address, as His coming draws near. Let’s read:
Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
The following are just a few examples given in the scripture so that folks may understand the nature, and the seriousness of the problem. It’s not an issue pertaining only to the secular and godless, it is one that affects the remnant people of God too because throughout history and even in our day Cain’s ways, words, ideologies and perspectives have permeated all echelons of our society.
The following examples of disrespect will be given in various categories because as we have previously shown, the problem is not only restricted to that of answering back parents in inappropriate ways. The issue includes a blatant disregard for God-ordained authority, including secular governments, school teachers, pastors and elders.
[1] Cursing out God, parents, teachers, pastors, elders, or anyone in authority.
Cursing, and using foul language and expletives are bad enough on their own, but to use them against one’s parents is strictly forbidden, and in the event that it ever takes place, there should be very serious consequences for the child. There are red lines that should never be crossed and if kids cross those lines it is our sacred duty as Christian parents to address the matter seriously.
If cursing at parents goes unpunished, the children will soon lose respect for all God-ordained authority and the practice would morph into situations which cause tremendous embarrassment, and harm, both to themselves and others. Furthermore, any parent who condones such behaviors would find that their prayers for their children would fall on deaf ears, if a definite change in training does not take place.
The commandment which says to honor thy father and thy mother is far reaching in its scope, and also includes the use of courtesy and respect when kids are addressing their parents and seniors. Disrespect has gone viral in our day, but God’s law has not lost its binding force especially for those who may know better. Let’s read:
Leviticus 24:11 And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses.
12 And they put him in ward, that the mind of the Lord might be shewed them.
13 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head and let all the congregation stone him.
15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curses his God shall bear his sin.
16 And he that blasphemes the name of the Lord, shall surely be put to death and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well as the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemes the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
Exodus 21: 17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
[2] Blatant disregard for God’s commands.
Any deliberate and blatant disregard of God’s laws and instructions is a form of disrespect. When we understand clearly what God requires, and then we deliberately choose to do otherwise, we manifest a contempt for The Lord, and thereby place ourselves in antagonism against Him.
The words: “Them that honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed” means that the lives of such persons who show a blatant disregard for God and His instructions would have little value in His sight. This is what took place with the sons of Aaron who because of an indulgent father, had gone on from their disrespect of Aaron to disrespecting the clear instructions from God.
But if parents shirk their unpalatable duties when it comes time to correct their children the time comes when God will take the matter in hand and what He did and how He did it with Aaron’s sons, shows us a grave truth, that God will not be trifled with. God is love, but the apostle Paul warns us to observe both the mercy and the severity of God so that we won’t be brainwashed by secular philosophies. Let’s read:
Leviticus 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.
2 And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
5 So they went near and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.
6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.
7 And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.
8 And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, saying,
9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy and between unclean and clean;
11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
Several critically important points must be noted in the above scriptures, for they contain lessons, and instructions the results of which would have eternal consequences. We begin with verse 6, in which God commanded Aaron and his family not to even cry or show sorrow at the demise of his sons. Why would God command them not to cry?
Folks should have clear concepts of what it means to obey God, for in our day, a watered down form of obedience, where persons choose the smooth and the easy over the true and unpalatable is being peddled by false prophets, and teachers, and those philosophies are being imbibed, and practiced even in our churches, to an alarming extent.
For the record, God means exactly what He says, and no modification, alteration, subtraction or any additions would ever be acceptable in His sight. The disposition to change God’s instructions to make them more pleasing to the multitudes is one of the reasons why school teachers are having increasing difficulty in managing the students under their care.
In this instance, Aaron must not even appear to be in sympathy with his sons, nor should he manifest a disapproval at the Divine correction because, as the 2nd prominent leader in Israel he would by so doing convey to the congregation the feeling that God had been unfair in His intervention, and that God went overboard by consuming his two sons during divine hour.
Then the multitudes who would be prone to indulge in false sympathy would join Aaron, and before you know it, the entire congregation will conclude that God was wrong in what He had done. Therefore, by partaking of the spirit of Cain who first accused God of heavy-handedness the congregation would make themselves ripe for destruction.
Parenting children often involves unpalatable duties such as administering correction when it is due. And in some instances, the gravity of the offence would call for a harsher response than in others. Speaking to kids at first is a must, but if over a period of time the desired results are not realized then parents are required to take it up at increasing notches.
Again, one parent should never weaken the hands of the other by undue sympathy to the child, when it is known that the child is in the wrong, because doing so will cause the child to view one parent as Christ and the other as satan.
Some parents are by their very nature more tender and sympathizing than others, and they might not have the guts to administer correction when it may be due. But at the very least, they should act as a cheerleader, meaning that they should confirm the correction and not weaken the hands of the other parent.
Another point that was made in the discourse that followed the demise of Aaron’s sons is that Aaron was not to abandon his post because of resentment or displeasure at what God had done, for doing so would also constitute a passive form of rebellion. In addition, a concise instruction against the free use of intoxicating wine was given to the priests, so that their powers of discernment would not become too severely distorted.
In our day our sense of right and wrong has become very blunted, so like Aaron’s sons, folks keep putting light for darkness, truth for error, bitter for sweet, and right for wrong. This condition of the churches in our day has been highlighted by God Himself with the intent that we would take all necessary steps to correct the stated evils. Let’s read:
Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.
Isaiah 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink.
Parents who are indulgent with their children not only do great harm to their kids, but also to future generations which are likely to mimic the ideology. The hope that over a period of time the kids would outgrow evils is a vain and empty hope that is built upon wishful thinking. It would never happen on its own, but will instead deepen even more, with the passage of time.
[3] Making a mockery of parents, or those in God-ordained authority.
There’s another type of disrespect that makes fun of, or mocks the counsels of parents, teachers, and persons in authority. This form is often more subtle than the overt type manifested by Aaron’s and Eli’s sons. Some children think they know better than their parents who have walked this road before and they might actually know more.
However, to make fun of the counsels of parents is a form of disrespect, and mocking them, as if they are fools, produces adverse results, for when such persons pray, there usually is no answer, for at the ground level they have mocked at God indirectly.
This disposition to make fun of parents is what led the sons in law of Lot, and his daughters, to make light of the final warning given to them and because of this, they perished in the fires of Sodom, just like everyone else, because God is no respecter of any persons.
The same issue of disrespect reared its ugly head just after Elisha received his Divine ordination, and the kids who were brought up without restraint and regard for parental authority mocked the servant of God as he passed by.
What followed next was an intervention by the Holy Ghost and it constitutes a very stark warning for our generation, for God shows us again in this instance that He will not be trifled with, by anyone whether they be big or small. Let’s read:
2nd KINGS 2: 23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
[P.K. pp 235>236] Elisha was a man of mild and kindly spirit; but that he could also be stern is shown by his course when, on the way to Bethel, he was mocked by ungodly youth who had come out of the city. At the sound of their mocking words the prophet turned back, and under the inspiration of the Almighty he pronounced a curse upon them. The awful judgment that followed was of God.
Had Elisha allowed the mockery to pass unnoticed, he would have continued to be ridiculed and reviled by the rabble, and his mission to instruct and save in a time of grave national peril might have been defeated. This one instance of terrible severity was sufficient to command respect throughout his life.
For fifty years he went in and out of the gate of Bethel, and to and fro in the land, from city to city, passing through the crowds of idle, rude, dissolute youth, but none mocked him or made light of his qualifications as the prophet of the Most High.
Even kindness should have its limits. Authority must be maintained by firm severity or it will be received by many with mockery and contempt. The so-called tenderness the coaxing and indulgence used toward youth by parents and guardians, is one of the worst evils which can come upon them. In every family, firmness, decision, positive requirements are essential.
Proverbs 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
[4] Our last example is known as the Caribbean version of Georgie Porgy.
There were three basic problems we ran into one day, as we played that song. [1] I happened to be Georgie Porgy. [2] One of the girls happened to be my Dad’s student. [3] Georgie Porgy couldn’t run away.
Even now, I can clearly recall that day. School was over, we began playing table tennis, and before you know it, “the girl” and myself began playing Georgie Porgy. But after kissing the girl, she didn’t follow the script, and my Dad, who was the school Principal at the time was made aware of what had taken place.
“Then”
I was then called to the Principal’s office and asked a direct question: Is it true that you kissed one of my students? After sweating a ton of bricks I finally said yes, and he then told me to go home and wait until he came home. To make a long story short, the episode that followed was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
My father did his parental duty, even though it was unpalatable, and therefore, when it came time for him and my mom to intercede for me, God heard and answered their prayers, and that’s why I stand before you today, giving Bible studies.
Many people wonder at the phenomenon of mass shootings that have overspread the land, and others are perplexed, and dismayed by the wanton taking of human life, often by young adults and even those in their teens. The reasons for this are simple: “Our chickens are now coming home to roost”.
When through secular philosophies and practices we weaken the hands of parents, when the kids are encouraged to call the cops on their parents, when correction was indeed due, and when parents are found cowering in fear because they prefer to avoid unpalatable duties then we will have a toxic mix on our hands.
Unwarranted leniency, and unbridled evil tendency in kids who should have been corrected when there was opportunity to do so, have contributed greatly to the over 178 mass shootings across the U.S so far for this year alone.
But the phenomena does not stop there, for as the human agent loses respect for parents, man, and all duly appointed leaders, they go a step further in the total disregard for God Himself, and thus, we’ve had many mass shootings in churches, synagogues, and mosques, phenomena that was almost unheard of in the not too distant past.
The seeds of these rebellions and the manifestation of such disrespect can in many cases be traced right back to parents who shirked their duties when they had opportunity to correct the evils in their children which they knew of, but whom like Eli, had turned a blind eye, hoping somehow that the church, or the school or even God Himself would take up the slack.
And now my dear friends, some parents may have a Georgie Porgy at home, and others may have the girls on their hands. Whatever our situation may be and whatsoever might be the issue to be addressed, one thing is certain, if folks expect God to fulfill His promise of saving our children, we will have to roll up our sleeves and do our parental duties.
At times, this won’t be easy, and many tears will be shed in the process, but if we persevere in the right direction, trusting in God and cooperating with Him, He will bless our efforts, because, at the end of life’s journey, nothing else will matter more, than to see ourselves and our children saved eternally in God’s kingdom.
In harmony with the spirit of this presentation, we now exhort every parent to be faithful. Let not our feelings get in the way of doing God’s bidding; let’s not weaken the hands of the other when there are unpalatable issues to be addressed, as Zipporah did when she did not agree with God’s requirements.
Instead, let us ask God for grace and strength to do His good will, for it is the salvation of parents and kids alike that are at stake. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which should encourage us, as we continue the bitter/sweet journey of raising our children for God’s kingdom. Let’s read:
Hebrews 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.
6 For whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives.
7 If ye endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
11 Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous but grievous, nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.
God Bless!