In the Lord

The Scriptures say, "Children, obey your parents." Notice that there is a qualification. "Obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right" (Ephesians 6:1). It does follow that there are some parents who are not honorable. It would be impossible to honor them for the kind of life that they live. There are some demands made by parents which would violate a person's Christian conscience to obey. A child is not obligated to obey an ungodly demand of a parent. There are some parents - undeserving of the title of father or mother - who would lead their children into all kinds of ungodly practices.

I've had counseling with many unfortunate cases of teen-age girls being assaulted or molested at any early age by their fathers. To me that is the most horrible, sickening thing a man could do. I don't think a beast would do something that low. Thus, I do not think a child must, because he is a child, submit to that kind of lust or insanity.

What happens in cases where moral issues are not involved? For instance, "I want to go to church tonight" and my parents said, "No, you'd better do your homework," In that case you'd better do your homework. There's no moral issue involved.

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord." How beautiful to have godly parents! Near the top of the list of thanksgiving in my own life is my heritage of a godly mother and father. What a privilege, what a blessing, what a goodness of God to me that I had parents whom I could honor, respect, and obey. They loved God deeply and served the Lord with all their hearts and lives. A home filled with love - that's the kind of home God wants you to have for your children.

My heart goes out to many of the young people we deal with today. I'm not one to blame someone else for my faults. I believe in accepting the responsibility for the person that I am. The same rain falls on everybody and the same sun shines on everybody. There are those who go out in the rain and praise the Lord. There are others who say, "Curses! It's raining again!" There are those who say, "What a beautiful sunny day!" Others say, "It looks like it's going to be hot and miserable." Same rain, same sun. What do you do with it? What is your attitude towards it?

But I can understand, because of the environment in which they were raised, why many young people are what they are today. I don't use that as an excuse. You shouldn't say, "My father has eaten sour grapes, so my teeth are set on edge." You can rise above your circumstances. Thank God! That's the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your father could be an alcoholic and your mother a prostitute. They could have deserted you from the time you were one-year-old. You could have lived off the street - and still be a fantastic, powerful child of God. You can rise above any environmental background. You can't go on blaming others for what you are, you can't say, "I've had a horrible background! I've had such a horrible life at home! I can't be anything else but my mean, miserable, cantankerous self. I am what I am because of them!" You can't spend your whole life excusing your rotten, nasty attitude and disposition on your early childhood.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit you can rise above any type of environmental background that you may have experienced. We've seen it done over and over again. When Jesus Christ deals with you, He can change completely and make you a new creature. You don't have to relate back to your "Irish temper." The new nature is now yours through Jesus Christ.

One of the beautiful witnesses that we have the opportunity to observe is the dramatic change in the lives of many young people accepting Jesus Christ. This has so changed their attitude at home with their parents, that the parents, in turn, have become interested in what caused their child Johnny to experience such a radical change in his life. As a result, many parents have come to experience a new life in Christ. God has created many new Christian families as a consequence of the changed attitude of the young people who have gone back home. Parents have been able to see the difference that Jesus Christ can make.