Honor your father and mother.

—Exodus 20:12

Last winter my son began learning how to snowboard. He was extremely disappointed to discover that the first thing they did was learn how to stop. He was much more interested in learning how to do “tricks” and go fast. To him, learning how to stop was a waste of time. He wanted to skip over that and get to the good stuff.

In teaching us how to order and shape our relationships with other people, the Ten Commandments can be similarly frustrating. Commandments five through ten generally address our relationships with other people. In speaking to how we relate to other people, where do the commandments begin?

They begin with our relationship with our parents.

Really? Can’t we start somewhere else? Why not our relationships with friends? Why not our relationships with co-workers that we like? Our relationship with our parents are, well, complicated. Can’t we skip over this and get to the good stuff?

God’s answer to that is, “No, in fact you cannot.” If we want to learn how to treat all people in a way that honors both them and God, we have to start with some of the most challenging relationships of all—our relationships with our parents.

This week: Honor Your Father and Mother; Exodus 20:1-2,12; I Peter 2:13-25

I hope to worship with you.